Air Superiority For NATO Over Libya

Airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft from NATO, the U.S., Britain and France are coordinating air-attack missions and refueling operations over Libya and the Mediterranean on a 24/7 basis. Eight aircraft take turns directing the routes of coalition air forces: three Boeing E-3A Sentry NATO aircraft and two Royal Air Force Boeing E-3Ds forward-based in Trapani, Sicily; two U.S. Air Force E-3B/Cs operating from Souda Bay, Crete; and a French air force E-3D flying from Avord Air Base in central France.
A DTI reporter flew on a typical mission in late May on a NATO E-3A. The nighttime flight lasted 7 hr., including the trip to and from its 12-mi. orbit over the Gulf of Sidra. Half of the 18-member multinational crew was from the U.S. The cockpit crew included a Canadian pilot, Dutch copilot, Spanish navigator and Italian flight engineer. A Spaniard commanded the 14 other members of the crew, which included Canadian, Dutch, Norwegian and Polish personnel. During the mission, the E-3A controlled nearly 50 aircraft, directed attacks on several targets and coordinated the air-to-air refueling of 28 planes, which accounted for 290,600 lb. of fuel.
NATO’s Operation Unified Protector (OUP) is the first operation of a joint NATO E-3A and RAF E-3D detachment, although the British AWACS is part of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force and has been exercising with E-3As for years. Lt. Col. Kees Pauw of the Netherlands, detachment and force element commander, says the allied AWACS are supporting all three parts of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973: the no-fly zone, dynamic and deliberate air strikes, and the maritime embargo. (For an article on Anglo-French air operations over Libya, see DTI June, p. 32.)
Canadian Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Kenny, commander of the Canadian detachment operating six Boeing CF-18 fighter-bombers (plus one spare) and Lockheed Martin CC-130T and CC-150T tankers from Trapani, says AWACS provide command and control, taskings and radio relay for allied aircraft, increasing their flexibility. Pauw prefers to use the term “aircraft deconfliction” when discussing the role the AWACS play. By sending dozens of fighters to tankers for air-to-air refueling, followed by 2-3 missions a day, the AWACS act as force multipliers. Air strikes are either preplanned or conducted against targets of opportunity. Armed with a combination of air-to-air missiles and 500- or 2,000-lb. laser-guided bombs, the CF-18s conduct air interdiction and armed reconnaissance missions.
NATO’s Coalition Air Operations Center 5 (CAOC-5) integrates different missions from Poggio Renatico, Italy. NATO E-3As and RAF E-3Ds use their new Internet Protocol-based chat capability, a military form of secure instant messaging, to communicate with CAOC‑5 and vice versa through a ground-entry point, alternating with the U.S. MIRC Internet relay chat protocol. Pauw says this eliminates radio transmissions and offers the advantages of faster, quicker and more reliable communication, which is encrypted without the risk of mistakes caused by misunderstanding voice communication. An E-3A has primary and slave chat laptops, with Windows displaying refueling and dynamic targeting missions.
The Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP), completed in January 2000, gives NATO E-3As the capability to detect aircraft and ships and filter out vehicles. Helicopters, which Pauw points out are still being used by pro-Gadhafi forces, can also be detected on the radar’s “low and slow” setting. Pauw says AWACS can control allied helicopters with transfer of authority from NATO, a procedure that has taken place.
The maritime embargo is supported by the E-3A’s maritime radar mode and a recently installed Automatic Identification System capability on a separate laptop in the aircraft. Suspect ships are reported to NATO maritime headquarters in Naples. Near- and mid-term modernization programs make the E-3As the most capable AWACS, according to Pauw, who highlights the computer upgrade and the increased number of radar scopes, in addition to RSIP.
The exception is the engines, the original Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW‑100A turbofans, which have higher fuel consumption than the CFM56 engines on the RAF E-3D and French E-3F aircraft. The E-3A that DTI flew on at the end of May steadily climbed to 29,000 ft. near Malta, weighed down by 140,000 lb. of fuel. NATO E-3As sometimes require aerial refueling to complete their missions, whereas the more fuel-efficient French E-3F flies from central France and back without refueling, albeit with less time on station.

By Nicholas Fiorenza / Aviation Week