IAI’s Gulfstream G550-based conformal airborne early warning & control (CAEW) aircraft is making its world debut here at Farnborough. The aircraft has flown with the Israel Air and Space Force only since February, and its appearance here was not confirmed until a few days before the show. Feedback from the first months of operation has been excellent, according to IAI, highlighting the capabilities of what the company describes as a “third generation” of phased-array AEW aircraft.
“We have moved from the first generation of large phased arrays, through a fixed dome array, and now we have dual-band conformal arrays,” Avishai Izhakian, IAI’s deputy general manager, marketing and business development for the Elta AEW division, and former CAEW program manager told AIN. “It’s like the mobile telephone. Each new step means smaller and lighter systems, but with more powerful capability. That is our philosophy: turning kilograms into kilobytes.”
