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E-3A Sentry
NATO’s initiative to replace its long-serving Boeing E-3A Sentry airborne early warning aircraft fleet with an alliance-wide system of systems has now moved into what officials call the “realization stage.”
What was the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control program has also been renamed the Alliance Federated Surveillance and Control (AFSC) in recognition that the program will be realized through a combination of NATO-led as well as national and multinational systems.
NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency, which is running the AFSC program, says the first step in the project will be the incremental integration of NATO-owned and operated assets–such as Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS), the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) fleet of the RQ-4 Phoenix platforms, and the successor to the NATO E-3 Sentry fleet.
The successor to the E-3 had been due to be the Boeing E-7. But NATO halted procurement of that aircraft after the U.S. withdrew from the Support Partnership that was funding the acquisition last summer. The search is now on for an alternative AEW platform.
AFSC also foresees uncrewed aircraft systems to be integrated, including UAS for aerial surveillance, and penetrating platforms.
The program will also lead to the development of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) pods, advanced autonomy and crewed-uncrewed teaming systems.
Other features of AFSC will include modernization of existing and planned NATO and national AEW capabilities and a more extensive use of space-based surveillance.
“Allies will work closely with industry to tailor future national and multinational capability developments to the AFSC specific needs in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and tactical control,” the NSPA says.
NATO officials say that national and multinational capability developments in ISR and tactical control will need to consider NATO integration from the outset if they are to be integrated into AFSC. Both industry and allied nations “will be guided by NATO’s dedicated teams” to achieve this.
As part of the first step in the realization stage, called increment 1, an AFSC Systems Integration Office is also being established, along with governance structures.
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