AWACS
Today we’re looking at E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes - they’re really just Boeing 707s with a 9.1m diameter rotating radar strapped onto the back, which provides airborne surveillance and battle management.
Starting in Britain there’s an E-3 Sentry at RAF Mildenhall. This is one of seven that the RAF purchased and named Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful and Doc.
Hopping over to France we see 3 of 4 E-3s owned by the Armée de l’Air.
Further afield there’s Khorat airfield in Thailand. I think this is actually a US E-3 and part of “Cope Tiger”, an annual, multinational exercise for practising interoperability with U.S. Forces. There’s also various fighter planes to see just to the South.
The US Air Force owns 34 E-3s in total and 28 of them are stationed at Tinker AFB (although I only count 13). Tinker AFB’s claim to fame is that in 1948 the first ever Tornado warning was issused from here (about 3 hours before it hit).
Also worth seeing while we’re in the area is another Children’s Play Area and [B-52 and B-1B bombers](http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=951&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=35.411464,-97.378006&z=17 ) which, according to submitter “West,” are being refitted with new electronics to allow them to carry and drop JDAM munitions.
Thanks: Don Mecoy, Mike, DFarmer, DDA, Grant hutchins, West, pooms, CraX & teuf
Tinker AFB has A LOT of cars parked there. Definitely a mention on this page to the person who can count how many there are on base.
Interesting fact about Mildenhall. It uses the lantern of Ely Cathedral as a marker. Apparently. Nevertheless, Ely Cathedral is worth checking out- its quite a cool building.
Just found out that 24000 people work there! yikes.
Just to the south of Tinker are even more cars (or vans!) but i’m guessing its a vehicle factory and not just that all the employees drive the same car!
Any natives of Tinker (Tinkers? Tinker belles? Tinklers?) out there know what the factory is?
oops - forgot to post link
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Either that or the most boring set of employees ever.
A bit of research: that plant is the general motors Oklahoma City plant, where they make mostly mid sized SUV’s.
Here is one in Placemark: Italy / Google Earth and another at Placemark: Nellis AFB / Google Earth.
My favorite though is this Australian version which, while an AWACS, is not an E-3: Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 737-7ES Wedgetail AEW&C
And a cool coincidence is that at the Placemark: exact same location / Google Earth in Google Maps that Bird’s Eye View shows the Australian AWACs there sits … (drum roll) … another E-3.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Some more at the NATO base at Geilenkirchen Germany.
Here’s one at Placemark: Boeing Field in Seattle / Google Earth
Glad you found my post. I see AWACS flying overhead fairly often here in Oklahoma City.
The first thumbnail link of the RAF Mildenhall actually links to the third thumbnail’s location, the Khorat Airfield.
If you go south a bit to cambridge, from mildenhall, cambridge aiport main hangar is mistakenly labelled as London Luton Airport! How would one go about reporting this error to google?
To the west of Khorat airfield in Thailand there is this plane.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Looks like it has the radar dish but it is definately smaller than all the other examples. Looks a little like an A-10, but I haven’t seen dish (circle) on one before.
Brian (#13):
The aircraft you found is a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye. The Hawkeye provides carrier-based Airborne Early Warning (AEW) services for the U.S. Navy, roughly analogous to the E-3’s role for the Air Force.
The E-3 at RAF Mildenhall will most likely be a US example as Mildenhall is currently used by the US Air Force. The RAF E-3 Sentry’s are all based at RAF Waddington in Lincolshire
Children’s Play Area? Is that a euphemism for the aircraft fire training area?
The aircraft at Mildenhall is a US E-3B/C. You can tell by the smaller engines and the lack of a refuelling probe.
The auto plant just south of Tinker is a General Motors assembly plant that closed in 2006. They last built GMC Envoy SUVs.