Latest news with #E-3
Asia Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Asia Times
The US attack on Iran and the collapse of negotiations
President Donald Trump's decision to launch attacks on three of Iran's major nuclear enrichment sites took place after negotiations in Geneva collapsed. Iran's foreign minister met with the foreign ministers of Germany, Britain and France, known as the E3, plus the EU. The E-3 and EU group pressed the Iranians to engage in negotiations with the United States. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi said Iran would only consider talks of some kind (not with the United States) after Israel halted its attacks on Iran and was punished. The E-3 tried to sell Araghchi and the Iranians on a formula, not supported by Washington, that would impose strict nuclear inspections and other similar measures as a 'solution' to the impasse, disregarding Trump's policy of no enrichment of uranium by Iran. Araghchi wasn't buying the European suggestions. Behind the scenes there were a number of attempts to broker deals, the Geneva meeting the last in a line of contacts. All the various initiatives were blocked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. This image grabbed from a United Nations video shows Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressing the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 20, 2025. Top European diplomats are meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on June 20 to discuss Iran's nuclear program. The US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities featured some 75 precision weapons including 14 GBU-57 bunker busters, 30,000-pound dual warhead weapons dropped by B-2 stealth bombers. Twelve GBUs were used against Fordow, two on the nuclear site at Isfahan. The B-2's flew directly from the United States and were refueled several times enroute to their targets. The US also deployed fourth and fifth generation fighter jets, likely from Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, although that is unconfirmed. A US submarine, probably Ohio class, located some 400 miles from Iran, launched 30 TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack) cruise missiles aimed at Natanz and Isfahan. Other targets may also have been involved, but that information has not been disclosed. A B-2 bomber releasing a GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb. The US aircraft were not attacked by any Iranian air defenses, suggesting that most of these had previously been neutralized by Israel's Air Force. An IDF infographic indicating the layout of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, June 13, 2025. China deployed two surveillance ships, numbers 855 and 815A, apparently to provide early warning to Iran and to try and jam Israeli air attacks. These same ships, it appears, were unsuccessful in detecting the US attack, either because they were jammed or because they never saw the B-2 bombers and other stealth aircraft such as the F-22 or F-35. Even if the Chinese were able to pass warnings to Iran, Israel had already destroyed most of Iran's air force and other air defenses. Reportedly, China also was shipping supplies into Iran and evacuating Chinese citizens. One of the Chinese surveillance and radar ships. The US operation, called Midnight Hammer, was coordinated with Israel and managed by CENTCOM. President Trump, speaking a few minutes after 10pm from the White House said that Iran should now make peace, but if it did not, there were plenty of targets in Iran that were far easier than Fordow, Isfahan or Natanz. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaking at an early Sunday morning news conference at the Pentagon, said, 'I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table. They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace, and we hope they do so.' Reportedly Iran's foreign minister is traveling to Moscow to coordinate with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin had sought a mediation role between Iran and the United States. For Putin the main focus is on Ukraine, where Russia is making significant breakthroughs, especially in areas that apparently are outside of the stated territorial goals of Russia's 'special military operation.' Russian support for Iran, if Russia actively challenged the United States, could force a turnaround in how the US views Russia in strategic terms. Putin likely will not want to see any change that would induce the United States to commit airpower to defend Ukraine and, by extension, risk a wider European conflict. Therefore, it is unlikely that Russia will take any action that would undermine the 'warming trend' with the United States. Russia's ability to influence Khamenei and the Mullahs, or for that matter Iran's Revolutionary Guards, to make a deal with the United States, is highly limited. At present any chance for Iran to change course and to consider a diplomatic solution that would definitively end Iran's nuclear program seems unlikely, considering Iran's current power structure. The US insists it is not promoting regime change in Iran, but that policy could very well change if there continues to be no progress in resolving the nuclear issue. Reportedly President Trump's envoy, Richard Grenell has asked Elon Musk to provide Starlink terminals to 'our friends' in Iran, a strong hint that the US is getting ready to support efforts to overthrow the Khamenei regime. Meanwhile hardliners in Iran are calling for Iran's navy to block the Straits of Hormuz, effectively ending oil exports through the Persian Gulf. Iran has a small navy and some submarines, including fairly quiet but older Kilo-class submarines. The idea that Iran could stop commercial traffic under current circumstances may be wishful thinking, considering the naval and air power put in place by the United States. Similarly, there is a Houthi threat to stop commercial traffic in the Red Sea, but Houthi capabilities have already been reduced and Iran is no longer in a position to resupply the Houthis with missiles and drones. A Russian-built, Kilo-class diesel submarine recently purchased by Iran, is towed by a support vessel in this photograph taken in the central Mediterranean Sea during the week of December 23. The submarine and the support ship arrived at Port Said, Egypt, on Tuesday and were expected to begin transiting the Suez Canal today, Jan. 2, 1996. Ships and aircraft from the US Navy's Sixth Fleet are tracking the submarine, which has been making the transit on the surface. This is the third Kilo-class submarine the Iranians have purchased from Moscow. Meanwhile the Iranian government has lost face at home. Suppressing the Internet and other steps won't stop the flow of information outside of regime control. The possibility of an internal upheaval cannot be discounted. Whether it will materialize remains to be seen.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
E-2 Hawkeye Replaces USAF E-3 Sentry, E-7 Cancelled In New Budget
A seismic shift has occurred in the Trump administration's new defense spending plan that is just emerging when it comes to the USAF's airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) predicament. The service's E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft are dwindling in number and rapidly aging into unsupportability. The proven and in-production E-7 Wedgetail, based on the Boeing 737 and serving with multiple allies, was supposed to bridge the gap between the E-3's retirement and pushing the sending part of the mission to space-based distributed satellite constellations. You can read all about this here. Now, if the administration gets its wish, that won't happen. The E-7 will be cancelled and the E-2D Hawkeye, currently flown by the U.S. Navy, will step in to fill the gap. This major turn of events came to light today as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. John Caine, and Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee. MacDonnell is Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and is currently performing the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and the Pentagon's Chief Financial Officer. In 2023, the USAF announced its intention to purchase E-7s, potentially as many as 26 of them, as replacements for a portion of the E-3 fleet. At the hearing today, the question of the current future of the USAF AEW&C force came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski late in the hearing. Murkowski is a Republican from Alaska, where fighters, tankers, and E-3 Sentry jets launch regularly to intercept foreign planes, primarily Russian fighters, bombers, and surveillance aircraft, over the vast arctic wilderness. Chinese H-6 missile carrier aircraft also appeared off Alaska last year for the first time, as part of a joint mission with Russia. Chinese air and naval presence in the region is only expected to grow in the future. China and Russia conduct joint air strategic patrol over Bering Sea on July 25. This marks the eighth air strategic patrol organized by the two militaries since from China PLA Air Force Weibo accounthttps:// — Ryan Chan 陳家翹 (@ryankakiuchan) July 25, 2024 With this in mind, just how big of an issue the age of the E-3 fleet has become was central to Murkowski's question. 'I have been concerned. We have E-3 capability up north, of course, but we were all counting on the E-7 Wedgetail coming our way. We're kind of limping along up north right now, which is unfortunate. And the budget proposes terminating the program. Again, the E-3 fleet [is] barely operational now, and I understand the intent to shift towards the space-based – you call it the 'air moving target indicators' – but my concern is that you've got a situation where you're not going to be able to use more duct tape to hold things together until you put this system in place. And, so, how we maintain that level of operational readiness and coverage, I'm not sure how you make it.' 'You know, the E-3 and the E-3 community have been really important to us for a long, long time, and I'll defer to the Comptroller, but I you know the Department has a bridging strategy through investing in some additional airborne platforms in order to gap fill while the space-based capabilities come online,' Kane replied in response to the senator's question. This is where the E-2D comes in. MacDonnell then added, 'Ma'am, we do have in the budget $150 million in FY26 [Fiscal Year 2026] for a joint expeditionary E-2D unit with five dedicated E-2Ds, and the budget also funds for additional E-2Ds to fill the near-term gap at $1.4 billion.' Currently, the only branch of the U.S. military that operates the E-2D is the U.S. Navy. The Alaskan senator then inquired, 'Can you tell me, will that have implications for what we're seeing up north in Alaska?' 'The answer is yes. I would. I would file this entire discussion under difficult choices that we have to make. But you know, the E-7, in particular, is sort of late, more expensive and 'gold plated,' and so filling the gap, and then shifting to space-based ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] is a portion of how we think we can do it best, considering all the challenges,' Hegseth responded. At a separate hearing before the House Appropriations Committee yesterday, Hegsteth had also described the Wedgetail as an example of a capability that is 'not survivable in the modern battlefield' and mentioned broad plans 'to fund existing platforms that are there more robustly and make sure they're modernized.' An annual assessment of high-profile U.S. military procurement programs from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional watchdog, which was released today, offers additional insight into issues with the USAF's effort to acquire E-7s. The original plan was to acquire a pair of production representative prototype (or RP) aircraft ahead of production of examples in a finalized configuration, starting this year. The service had then expected to reach initial operational capability with the Wedgetail in 2027. 'Air Force officials said that they now plan to begin production by the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 before completing the E-7A RP MTA [Middle Tier Acquisition] rapid prototyping effort by initiating a separate, concurrent program on the major capability acquisition pathway,' according to GAO. 'They said that it was necessary to begin production concurrently with the E-7A RP rapid prototyping effort to offset the lead time associated with the build and subsequent modification of the aircraft.' 'The program definitized its contract with Boeing since our last assessment. After the contract was definitized, Boeing delayed the first flight test by 9 months to May 2027,' the report adds. 'According to Air Force officials, the delay was due to a late-breaking, required critical security architecture change that affected the procurement of parts, qualification testing, and modification of the airframe.' 'The program stated that the Air Force definitized the MTA rapid prototyping effort contract in August 2024 to deliver two operationally capable E-7A prototype aircraft in fiscal year 2028,' GAO's new assessment further notes. 'The program added that the total acquisition cost increase of 33 percent resulted from updated methodologies to include additional scope related to non-recurring engineering, with the primary drivers being software and air vehicle subsystems.' Last year, the Air Force had been very open about the difficulties it was having finalizing a contract with Boeing for the RP jets. The two parties ended up agreeing on a deal valued at nearly $2.6 billion. A contracting notice the service put out earlier this year also pointed to significant expected differences between the RP aircraft and the full production examples, including the possibility of a new radar. Existing versions of the E-7 in service elsewhere globally today are equipped with Northrop Grumman's Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar. The USAF's move to drop the E-7 and leverage the E-2D, which is already in the Pentagon's stable, prompts many questions. For instance, just how many of these aircraft will the USAF end up with? As of 2024, the USAF's E-3 fleet stood at 16 aircraft. Above all else, there are major capability trades here. The Hawkeye is a much smaller aircraft than both the Sentry and the Wedgetail. It is extremely capable, but it is also optimized to exist within the confines of carrier operations. The crew size is just five individuals. This limits the amount of shear manpower to perform highly complex operations and other tasks beyond traditional AEW&C. The E-2 also has less range and is far slower than both the E-3 and E-7. This means longer transit times, and the aircraft doesn't fit in as seamlessly with the jet-centric operations for the counter-air mission the service currently enjoys. The E-2D's AN/APY-9 radar from Lockheed Martin is hugely capable, but many of its other advanced data fusion and relay systems are unique to the Navy. These systems would either be stripped or just left unused for USAF-focused operations. It's also possible that other systems will replace them, but this will cost money and take time to integrate and field. Hawkeyes, being turboprop aircraft, also operate at lower altitudes, giving their radar, radio systems, and electronic surveillance suites reduced line-of-sight, limiting their range and fidelity at distance for some targets and surveillance application, in some cases. Then there is the aerial refueling issue. The E-2D has gained this ability relatively recently, which expands its endurance. Typical missions can now last over seven hours. However, the aircraft uses the Navy-preferred probe-and-drogue refueling method, not the boom and receptacle one favored by the USAF. The USAF's KC-46 tankers do have a hose and drogue system and some of the service's KC-135Rs have podded hose and drogue systems. Otherwise, they require a basket attachment to their boom, often called the 'Iron Maiden' or 'Wrecking Ball,' due to its rigid metal frame and potential to smack into and damage airframes. This system makes the KC-135R useless for refueling receptacle-equipped aircraft when it is fitted. The E-2D also refuels lower-and-slower than jet aircraft. All these issues are not 'show-stoppers,' but they are ones that will impact operational planning and flexibility. The E-2D, being already a highly upgraded and a much smaller airframe, also lacks the same capacity for future expansion compared to the E-7. This could include adding more personnel for various non-traditional functions, including using its advanced radar to scan the surface more extensively or for unique battle management needs, such as controlling future drone swarms, or even for more extensive passive intelligence collection and exploitation and data fusion operations. High-bandwidth datalinks can possibly make up for some of the manpower differentials, allowing folks on the ground to execute critical functions in near real time as part of a distributed crew arrangement, but there are downfalls to this concept, as well. On the other hand, having commonality with the Navy's AEW&C aircraft should help reduce costs for both services and accelerate the type's entry into USAF service. It could also benefit the future evolution of the E-2D as more money will be flowing into the program. It's also a very capable and well-proven platform, lowering risk. Above all else, joint service E-2Ds could be absolutely critical to the USAF's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) combat doctrine that will see its forces distributed to remote forward locales and constantly in motion. The E-2D's turboprop performance, robust landing gear, and arrested landing capabilities mean it can be pushed far forward to very austere operating locations with limited runway length. And it can do this without sacrificing the quality of the data it collects or the efficacy of its use as a battle manager. This is something a 707 or 737 platform simply cannot match and could prove decisive in a major peer-state contingency. TWZ highlighted these exact benefits after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video last year showing a Navy Hawkeye refueling from a USAF HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue aircraft, which can act as a probe-and-drogue tanker, primarily for helicopters and Osprey tiltrotors. A @USNavy E-2D refuels inflight from an @usairforce HC-130 over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 6, 2024 While the USAF's move away from the E-7 is certainly surprising, and it will result in shortfalls in some areas, it also unlocks new capabilities, some of which are arguably more applicable to tomorrow's wars. It also buys down additional risk, which is looming very large as it isn't clear at this time, at least publicly, how far along the Pentagon's persistent space-based aircraft sensing constellation development actually is. All of this still has to make it through congressional approval, which could be a challenge considering the special interests involved. But as it sits now, the flying service is pivoting big once again when it comes to its increasingly dire AEW&C needs. Contact the author: Tyler@
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What Happens To The Air Force's Strangest Plane Now That It's Being Replaced?
Sometimes, the military comes up with some truly insane ideas -- that work. What if you stuck an airport on a boat? Now, aircraft carriers rule the seas. Okay, what if you stuck a radar station on a plane? That gave us a type of aircraft that can detect enemies in the air and direct entire aerial battles. Since the 1970s, the U.S. Air Force has used the E-3 for this purpose. Called the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), it is truly one of the strangest planes America's military has ever flown. It sports an enormous rotating radar dish on its back, 30 feet in diameter, giving it a silhouette that's instantly recognizable. Flying in pretty much every major conflict the U.S. has been involved in since its deployment, the AWACS is a staple of American airpower. But its long watch is at last coming to an end. The AWACS uses a positively ancient airframe, the Boeing 707, which first flew in 1957 and no longer even flies commercially. That means parts are harder and harder to come by, and the cost of maintenance is skyrocketing, even as its once-peerless capabilities are becoming second-tier in the modern world. So the Air Force has already started to put them out to pasture, specifically by tossing them in the Boneyard. Read more: Buy One Of These Electric Pickup Trucks Instead Of Humiliating Yourself With A Tesla Cybertruck The Boneyard is the nickname for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. While the base plays host to a number of units, it's most famous for being the home of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. Essentially, if the Air Force needs to take a plane out of flight rotation, it can send it to this team for storage, potentially repair, and if need be, long-term retirement. With almost 3,200 aircraft on site, the Boneyard is the largest airplane graveyard in the world. The extremely arid desert air made it an ideal location for parking old planes, since humidity leads to rust and erosion. By storing the planes instead of destroying them, the Air Force could refit them for flight in an emergency; otherwise, the junk planes are a great source of parts, particularly for older airframes like the AWACS has. Since 2023, the Air Force sent 14 AWACS to the Boneyard, taking them out of operational rotation, possibly forever. Another was left at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the main hub for the plane, as a display. That leaves only 16 AWACS still flying for the United States, though NATO and other allies still fly their own as well. The primary mission of the E-3 AWACS is to coordinate air battles and detect enemy aircraft and missiles. Essentially, the beating heart of the plane is that gigantic radar dish on the back, which can sweep for contacts up to 250 miles away. All of that information is then displayed to the crew, as many as 19 specialists, whose job it is to relay that information back out to other American or allied forces in the area. Recently, NATO has been flying the AWACS to detect Russian bombing flights and missile launches against Ukraine so it can make sure the conflict doesn't spill over the border into NATO countries. Far more than simply a source of information, the AWACS is also an airborne command and control center, able to direct an entire air battle if need be. It can also assist ground commanders by advising them of what the enemy has in the air. As mighty as the E-3 AWACS once was, it has started to show its age. The aircraft are decades old, parts for its archaic Boeing 707 airframe are getting harder to come by, and worst of all, its signature radar dish is no longer top of the line. A full sweep of an area takes 10 seconds; in other words, if there's a specific enemy plane or missile you want to track, you're only going to get an update every 10 seconds. That's an eternity in the heat of combat. So in 2023, the Pentagon announced that it had ordered Boeing E-7s to replace them. The E-7 is based on the 737 airframe (even though the 737 MAX has been a headache for Boeing), still in operation around the world today. Parts are plentiful, in other words. More importantly, it trades the bulky radar dish for a linear piece called the multirole electronically scanned array. This can lock onto one or more targets to track, rather than having to wait for a dish to sweep around. This is the military, however, and nothing happens quickly. So even though the plane is already operational in several allied air forces, the U.S. doesn't expect to get prototypes until fiscal year 2028. The plan was to get 26 of the finalized versions by 2032, but now the Trump administration is reviewing budget priorities, and the whole project could be scoped back or even scrapped. If the Pentagon does proceed with acquiring them, the U.S. Air Force versions of the E-7 ought to be the pinnacle of airborne early warning and battle management. In fact, it's possible that they will hold on to that distinction forever. That's because the future of this mission isn't airborne at all -- it's orbital. Somewhere around a decade from now, the goal is for this kind of real-time information gathering, sharing, and coordinating to be handled by vast constellations of small satellites across both low-Earth orbit and medium-Earth orbit. If those plans are successful, these satellites could render the planes redundant. Why wait for a plane to taxi to the runway, take off, and fly all the way to the battle when you already have a network of satellites overhead all the time? Then again, redundancy is never a bad thing in battle, where assets get shot down all the time. The Pentagon may well like keeping airborne capabilities around as a backup. The E-3 AWACS has been flying for 50 years; so if they ever fly at all, there's no reason to think the E-7 couldn't be, too. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yemen Online
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yemen Online
US approves sale of precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia
The US State Department has approved the sale of precision-guided weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, according to the Pentagon, marking the latest US-Saudi arms deal under President Donald Trump. In July, the State Department also approved a separate deal worth approximately $2.8 billion, under which the US agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with logistics systems, joint planning programs, and equipment related to American-made aircraft. At the time, the State Department noted in a memorandum to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that the deal would help Saudi Arabia strengthen both its current and future military capabilities. It also highlighted the support and training provided for the Royal Saudi Air Force, particularly for its existing platforms, including C-130 transport aircraft, E-3 surveillance planes, and Bell helicopters. Saudi Arabia among the world's top military spenders Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) reported that the kingdom's military spending has grown at an annual rate of 4.5 percent since 1960, reaching $75.8 billion in 2024. This makes Saudi Arabia the fifth-largest military spender globally and the top spender in the Arab world. The authority also stated that Saudi Arabia's defense budget for 2025 is set at $78 billion, accounting for 21 percent of total government spending and 7.1 percent of the country's GDP. The kingdom's defense expenditures represent 3.1 percent of global military spending, which stands at $2.44 trillion.
Al Arabiya
20-03-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
US approves sale of precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia
The US State Department has approved the sale of precision-guided weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, according to the Pentagon, marking the latest US-Saudi arms deal under President Donald Trump. In July, the State Department also approved a separate deal worth approximately $2.8 billion, under which the US agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with logistics systems, joint planning programs, and equipment related to American-made aircraft. At the time, the State Department noted in a memorandum to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that the deal would help Saudi Arabia strengthen both its current and future military capabilities. It also highlighted the support and training provided for the Royal Saudi Air Force, particularly for its existing platforms, including C-130 transport aircraft, E-3 surveillance planes, and Bell helicopters. Saudi Arabia among the world's top military spenders Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) reported that the kingdom's military spending has grown at an annual rate of 4.5 percent since 1960, reaching $75.8 billion in 2024. This makes Saudi Arabia the fifth-largest military spender globally and the top spender in the Arab world. The authority also stated that Saudi Arabia's defense budget for 2025 is set at $78 billion, accounting for 21 percent of total government spending and 7.1 percent of the country's GDP. The kingdom's defense expenditures represent 3.1 percent of global military spending, which stands at $2.44 trillion.
