Boeing receives contract for French E-3F AWACS upgrades

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Boeing has received a $9.9 million modification to an existing contract for French Air Force E-3F Airborne Warning and Control Systems.

The modification, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, provides the AWACS fleet with 40 mission and 17 ground-system software changes. The contract provides the French Air Force E-3F AWACS with mid-life upgrades.

Work will be performed in Kent, Wash., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Avord Air Base in France and is expected to be completed by June 2020.

Foreign military sales funds have been obligated at the time of award with a cumulative value of the contract at $393.5 million.

The E-3F Sentry AWACS plane is a militarized Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe that has a distinctive top-mounted 30-foot rotating radar dome. This exterior radar has a range of over 250 miles and can track large numbers of aircraft from treetop altitude to the upper stratosphere over land and water.

The Sentry has extensive communications and data-sharing systems for rear-area or ship-based command-and-control operations. It has a flight crew of four and can carry up to 19 mission specialists to gather, interpret and share radar and other sensor information.

The Identification Friend or Foe system helps commanders with detailed location information of friendly, neutral and enemy locations. It has a range of nearly 6,000 miles and is capable of mid-air refueling for greater endurance.

The E-3 series has been in U.S. service since 1977 and is being extensively upgraded. The aircraft has been exported to several allied nations, with France maintaining a fleet of four. It is also the primary AWACS aircraft in use by NATO.