Billion-Dollar “Eyes in the Sky”: Inside AWACS Tech, Costs, and the Global Airborne Radar Race
Comprehensive Overview of AWACS Aircraft and Technology AWACS Technology: Radars, Sensors, and Systems Modern AWACS aircraft are essentially flying sensor hubs and command centers. At their core is a powerful radar designed for all-around aerial surveillance. Classic AWACS like the E-3 Sentry use a spinning dish antenna (rotodome) on the fuselage, which mechanically rotates every 10–12 seconds to scan 360° euro-sd.com. In contrast, latest designs use Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars that steer beams electronically. For example, the E-7 Wedgetail’s Northrop Grumman MESA radar (mounted in a fin on the fuselage) is an L-band AESA using modern Gallium Nitride
