Aircraft
NATO E-3A Upgrade Announced
NATO is spending $1 billion on keeping its aging AWACS aircraft concurrent with technology while it begins the search for a replacement in 2035.
NATO's Sentries have participated in numerous coalition operations over the years, and were deployed to the U.S. in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Here one of the fleet flies over Italy. (photo: NATO)
NATO's Sentries have participated in numerous coalition operations over the years, and were deployed to the U.S. in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Here one of the fleet flies over Italy. (photo: NATO)

NATO’s Airborne Early Warning & Control Program Management Agency has signed a $1 billion Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) contract with Boeing to upgrade 14 E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft to allow them to remain in service until 2035. The upgrade forms part of a wider NATO strategy to counter new and growing threats, and will be funded by the 16 allied nations participating in the NATO AWACS program. The contract was signed on November 27 by Boeing International president Michael Arthur and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at Melsbroek, the military enclave of Brussels airport.