The United States has more flying radar pickets for the Air Force and Naval Aviation than all other countries combined. This applies to both the number of copies and the number of models. The bulk of the built AWACS aircraft entered the fleet, since aircraft carriers were considered the main strike force of the US Navy in a non-nuclear confrontation. At the same time, the American Air Force, not constrained by the length of capital runways and maximum take-off weight, ordered heavy vehicles with powerful radars, high-performance data exchange and long flight times. But, as you know, in this world you have to pay for everything. Air Force aircraft, which had higher characteristics, cost the budget several times more and, in comparison with naval aircraft, built them several times less.
However, in a number of cases, the capabilities of the heavy and expensive E-3 Sentry turned out to be excessive, and the operation was too costly. To issue target designation to air defense systems or to control aviation actions in a remote secondary theater of operations, it was quite enough to have a relatively inexpensive machine capable of being based on field airfields with the characteristics of the radar station of the naval E-2 Hawkeye. However, the generals of the Air Force were not satisfied with the range and duration of the Hokai's flight. In addition, to facilitate maintenance and operation, it was desirable that the "tactical" AWACS aircraft be created on a platform that was already operated by the Air Force.
It seemed quite logical to "cross" the radar of the E-2C carrier-based aircraft with the well-proven military transport C-130 Hercules. The installation of a radar with a rotating disk antenna and a complete set of communication and navigation equipment on a spacious four-engine aircraft with an impressive carrying capacity and, as a consequence, with an increased fuel supply, made it possible to significantly increase the flight duration.
In the early 80s, Lockheed took a proactive approach to creating an AWACS aircraft based on the Hercules transport. The new aircraft received the designation EC-130 ARE (Airborne Radar Extension, airborne radar surveillance) and was intended to fill the niche between the E-2 Hawkeye and the E-3 Sentry, one C-130H was re-equipped. In addition to the AN / APS-125 radar and the E-2C sea avionics, the reserve of free space and mass was used to accommodate drop-off equipment on board and to install additional fuel tanks, as a result of which the duration of stay in the air exceeded 11 hours.
Due to the workload on priority topics and the absence of a customer, tests of the aircraft with a full set of avionics began only in 1991. Since the confrontation between the two superpowers by that time had ceased, the American air force did not order a single radar surveillance and control vehicle based on the C-130. Allied NATO Command Europe, British, French and Saudis opted for the upgraded Sentry. And foreign buyers from small countries cost the coast-based E-2C.
The AWACS aircraft based on "Hercules" attracted the attention of the US Border and Customs Service, working in conjunction with the Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration. After the aircraft began performing regular patrol missions, it was renamed EC-130V.
EC-130V
The ability to conduct long-term patrols and relatively low operating costs, it would seem, should have ensured the production of new AWACS aircraft, but due to budget cuts by the US Border Guard Service and the US Coast Guard, further purchases of EC-130 ARE had to be abandoned. Although the plane has proven itself very well during missions to identify drug smuggling. A cheap alternative to the radar "Hercules" is the anti-submarine R-3V, converted into radar patrol aircraft, which are available in abundance at a storage base in Arizona. At the same time, the C-130 freighters were in great demand and served in the Air Force and Navy aviation until they were completely worn out.
As a result, after two years of operation in the fight against drug trafficking, the only EC-130V built in 1993 was handed over to the US Navy, where it was once again redesigned. After the installation of the AN / APS-145 radar and special high-resolution photo and video cameras, the aircraft was renamed NC-130H and used in a number of test programs.
NC-130H
In particular, the NC-130H carried out radar tracking of the Space Shuttle reusable spacecraft approaching landing, supported cruise missile testing and conducted search and rescue operations.
About five years ago, it was reported that Lockheed Martin, together with Northrop Grumman and Australian Transfield Defense Systems for export to third countries on the basis of the C-130J-30 Hercules II with an extended fuselage, new avionics and more powerful and economical engines, are developing an AWACS C- 130J-30 AEW & C with AN / APY-9 radar with AFAR. This station, installed on the E-2D, approaches in its capabilities the AN / APY-2 radar of the AWACS aircraft. However, it is not known how far the work in this direction has progressed. It can be assumed that due to the lack of orders, the aircraft will never be built.
In the late 1950s, the United States Marine Corps took care of creating its own radar air pickets. Since the ILC did not have such abundant funding, and the landing ships could not receive and launch deck-based AWACS aircraft, it was decided to use helicopters. As a platform for the AN / APS-20E radar, they chose the largest of the then available helicopters - the heavy S-56 (CH-37C). This is one of the last American piston-engine helicopters, it could transport 4,500 kg of cargo in the cockpit or on an external sling.
Helicopter AWACS HR2S-1W
The radar antenna was mounted under the cockpit in a bulging drop-shaped plastic fairing. In total, two HR2S-1W deck-based AWACS helicopters were built for testing. By that time, the AN / APS-20E radar could no longer be considered modern, the first versions of this radar were developed during the war years, and in the future the AWACS helicopters were supposed to be equipped with more advanced equipment.
However, the operation of radars on helicopters turned out to be extremely unstable. Due to vibration, the reliability of the lamp units left much to be desired, and the limited flight altitude of the helicopter did not allow the maximum possible detection range to be realized. In addition, the tube radar was quite "gluttonous", for its power supply it was necessary to run an additional electric generator driven by a gasoline engine, which reduced the time spent in the air. As a result, the Marines decided not to bother with AWACS helicopters and assigned all the functions to control the air situation to the fleet and ground radars, which were to be deployed on the captured bridgehead.
In the sixth part of the review, where, among other things, it was about AWACS aircraft based on the Orion R-3 patrol anti-submarine, the NP-3D converted from the R-3C was mentioned and designed to support the tests of various missiles. For similar purposes, in the late 1980s, Boeing retrofitted two DHC-8 Dash 8 DeHavilland Canada civilian turboprop airliners.
This type of aircraft with turboprop engines was chosen for reasons of economy. Turboprop machines with two Pratt & Whitney PW-121 engines with a capacity of 2,150 hp each. with. each cost the US military department $ 33 million, of which $ 8 million was spent on refurbishment. That is, one plane cost about the same as a fighter, which was much cheaper than the Hawaiian or Sentry. At the same time, thanks to fairly economical engines and civilian service standards, operation also cost several times less.
E-9A Widget
On the aircraft, designated E-9A Widget, an AN / APS-143 (V) -1 radar with a phased antenna array was installed on the starboard side of the fuselage, and an APS-128 search radar and telemetry and data transmission equipment were installed in the ventral fairing. An aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 16,400 kg could stay in the air for 4 hours. The maximum flight altitude reached 7000 meters, the speed - up to 450 km / h. The crew includes 2 pilots and 2-3 operators of electronic equipment.
Operators of avionics of the aircraft E-9A
Since 1989, the aircraft have taken an active part in testing various types of aviation and missile weapons. In addition to radar tracking of tested samples and collecting telemetric information, the "Widgets" task was entrusted with ensuring security and checking the test area for the presence of unauthorized persons and objects.
It is reported that Widget's radars on the sea surface are capable of detecting a human-sized object on a liferaft at a distance of more than 40 km. And simultaneously track more than 20 sea and air targets. In the past, E-9A aircraft have taken part in the assessment of weapons at various US test sites, including testing the advanced sea-based cruise missile Tomahawk, and testing the 5th generation F-22A fighter with practical launches of air-to-air missiles. air.
Currently, one E-9A remains in flight condition. In the late 90s, this machine underwent additional equipment for remote control of target aircraft. Now the only "Widget" is part of the 82nd Squadron of Unmanned Targets, at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico (more details here: Operation of "Phantoms" in the US Air Force continues). The E-9A is mainly used for remote control of flights of radio-controlled targets QF-4 Phantom II and QF-16A / B Fighting Falcon and for monitoring the air situation over the Nellis and White Sands ranges.
In the second half of the 70s, the volume of heavy drugs illegally imported into the United States increased sharply, which led to a worsening of the crime situation. The US government responded by tightening border controls on the US-Mexican border, which made it possible to intercept a significant portion of the illegal cargo transported by land. As a result, drug traffickers, taking advantage of the relative transparency of maritime borders, switched to shipping large volumes from Texas and Florida on the east coast and California on the west coast. However, the US Coast Guard, with the help of ocean-class patrol ships and speedboats, prevented the establishment of sustainable channels of entry by sea. And the police and the Drug Enforcement Administration took control of the ports and harbors. But drug lords, who did not want to lose multimillion-dollar profits, began to use aviation. There are cases when large enough transport aircraft such as DC-3 and DC-6 were used to transport cocaine. However, most often these were light-engine single-engine airplanes.
In the USA, in the post-war period, flying "cars" were very popular and are still in use, which can accommodate, in addition to the pilot, 3-4 passengers and carry-on luggage. In the early 80s, the still strong 10-15-year-old "Cessna 172" cost several thousand dollars on the secondary American market (more details here: Air bestseller - Cessna-172 "Skyhawk"). And just one successful flight with a hundred kilograms of cocaine more than compensated for the purchase of a used car. In addition, "Cessna" could sit almost anywhere, for this a deserted section of the highway, of which there are plenty in the south of the United States, or a flat stretch of desert, was quite suitable. Often, drug dealers, having delivered a large consignment of the potion, simply abandoned the planes.
Until the mid-60s, the United States had a powerful air defense system (more details here: North American air defense system), but after the start of the massive construction of ICBMs in the Soviet Union and the achievement of nuclear missile parity, the need for numerous air defense systems and air control radars disappeared. The total reduction of radar control facilities in the southern direction led to the fact that it became possible to import almost anything into the United States into the gaps that were formed. For detecting small aircraft flying at low altitude over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, AWACS aircraft were best suited, but even for rich America it was too expensive to keep them in the air around the clock. Partly the solution to the problem was the use of not new "Hokai", withdrawn from the deck air wings to the coastal reserve squadrons, and the conversion of used anti-submarine "Orions" into air radar posts.
After the Border Service had radar patrol aircraft at its disposal and began using Air Force and Navy fighters on an ongoing basis to intercept violators, the volume of seized drugs immediately increased several times. However, AWACS aircraft could not control all possible directions around the clock. In addition, the Border Guard had few of them, and it was not always possible to come to an agreement with the naval authorities.
As mentioned in the second part of the review, in the 50-60s, the US Navy operated radar patrol airships. Along with the ability to conduct long-term patrols, these aircraft were extremely slow, required huge hangars for placement, and, most importantly, were highly dependent on weather conditions, which, as a result, against the background of the reduction of the Barrier Force, became the main reason for the fleet's abandonment of them.
In the late 70s, the US Department of Defense initiated a program for the development of lighter-than-air aircraft. However, taking into account the experience of using airships, it was decided to build unmanned tethered balloons. The deployment of the first balloons of the TARS system (Tethered Aerostat Radar System, balloon tethered radar system) began in 1982. In total, 11 balloon radar posts operated in the southeastern regions of the United States in the interests of the Border and Customs Service and the Coast Guard.
The balloon was launched with a length of 25 and a width of 8 meters from a specially prepared platform with a mooring mast. The descent and ascent to an altitude of 2700 meters was controlled by an electric winch, the total length of the cable was about 7500 meters. The device could theoretically be operated at wind speeds up to 25 m / s. Although, for safety reasons, with a wind of 15 m / s, the cable was already reeled up. Despite the precautions, four tethered balloons were lost due to bad weather in 20 years.
A helium-filled balloon equipped with an AN / APG-66 radar with a detection range of up to 120 km is capable of staying in the air continuously for two weeks. The AN / APG-66 radar was originally used on F-16A / B fighters. Electric current to power the radar and radar information were fed through two separate cable lines.
Radar patrol balloon on Kajo Key island
Despite the meteorological dependence, balloon radar posts have generally proven themselves positively. For more than twenty years of service with their help, hundreds of boats and airplanes were found trying to illegally cross the US borders. And they were not always drug transporters. So, thanks to a radar post deployed in Florida on the island of Cadjo Key, it was repeatedly possible to find boats of illegal "swimmers" who had escaped from Cuba.
Satellite image of Google Earth: sites for launching radar balloons on Kajo Key island in Florida
Some readers do not perceive tethered balloons as a really effective means of radar patrol, considering soft apparatus lighter than air to be "swindle". However, according to the representatives of the US Air Force, which was in charge of the balloon radars, their use with a sufficiently high probability of detecting potential trespassers of the border allowed to save more than $ 200 million over 20 years. This savings is very significant even by American standards. It was formed as a result of the fact that airborne systems were able to replace AWACS aircraft in coastal areas. The maintenance of balloon radar posts is 5-7 times cheaper than attracting AWACS aircraft, and also requires half the number of maintenance personnel. In 2006, the military handed over the balloons to the Border Guard Service. After the conclusion of a service agreement with private companies, the cost of maintaining the balloon park decreased from $ 8 million to $ 6 million per year.
In the last decade, TARS balloons have been replaced by lighter-than-air devices of the LASS (Low Altitude Surveillance System) system. The 420K balloon, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, carries optoelectronic tracking systems for the earth and water surfaces and AN / TPS-63 radar with a detection range of 300 km. This device, designed as a means of detecting cruise missiles that break through at low altitudes, was not in demand in the air defense system of North America. The main sphere of application of radar balloon posts was the control over illegal crossing of the US-Mexican border and the suppression of drug trafficking.
Raytheon is currently offering customers the JLENS (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System) balloon system. The basis of the JLENS system is a 71-meter-long balloon with a payload of 2000 kg at an operating altitude of 4500 m, capable of continuously being in the air. The workload includes a target detection and tracking radar, communication and information processing equipment, and special meteorological sensors that allow operators to warn operators in advance of worsening weather conditions in the area of the balloon launch.
The received radar information is transmitted via a fiber-optic cable to the ground processing complex, and the generated target designation data is delivered to consumers via secure communication channels. As a separate option, it is possible to arm the balloon with AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, which makes it a very effective air defense system. In 2014, the US Department of Defense announced the acquisition of 14 sets of the JLENS system at a price of $ 130 million per unit.
