Illustrative image. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nikita Custer)
The United States has reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East by deploying additional E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft after losing multiple long-range radars to Iranian retaliatory strikes.
The E-2D all-weather, carrier-capable, tactical AEW aircraft is equipped with the AN/APY-9 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which reportedly has a range of 648 kilometers, in addition to several command and control systems. The aircraft can be especially effective gainst lying targets, like suicide drones and cruise missiles.
According to open source aviation data, four Hawkeyes departed Bangor Air National Guard Base in Maine on March 16, then crossed the Atlantic Ocean on their way to the Middle East.
Click to see full-size image. (Flightradar24/X)
Click to see full-size image. (Flightradar24/X)
The aircraft were likely sent to make up for the recent loss of multiple long-range radars across the region, which degraded the early warning capabilities of the U.S. and its allies.
The losses reportedly included up to four AN/TPY-2 very high-altitude radars. The radars were deployed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and in two sites near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as a part of four separate Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems.
Two of the radars were Emirate, while the other two are said to be American. Radars of this type are reported to have a detection range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers.
An AN/FPS-132 AESA radar site near Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was also destroyed. The high-power, solid-state phased-array radar is used for long-range early warning of ballistic missile attacks and space surveillance. It has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers. The radar in question is owned and operated by Qatar.
In addition to these losses, the destruction of multiple MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defense systems with their AN/MPQ-53, -65, or -65A radars was reported, although this is yet to be confirmed.
Recent satellite images shared by Iranian media also revealed that an AN/FPS-117 3-dimensional air search radar was destroyed at King Khaled Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The AESA radar is reported to have a range of 470 kilometers.
Click to see full-size image.
While the deployment of additional E-2Ds could close some of the gaps created by Iranian retaliatory strikes, coverage will not recover fully, especially when it comes to the detection of ballistic missiles.
The U.S. is reported to be rushing additional THAAD and Patriot systems to the Middle East, mainly from South Korea, to address this issue. However, as the war drags on, there are no guarantees that the Islamic Republic won’t be able to target these new systems, or even hit the Hawkeyes on the ground.
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school in iran is about to be cancelled…permanently…heheheh
middle east sellout whores, iran is on the right track.
in the last years of it existence soviet union gave nukes to china and north korea and make operation behemoth i and ii. russia and china aren’t real opponents to us. better to capitulate! at least north korea will use their nukes. cowards will pay the price for their cowardice!
soviet union discovered that.a single nuke at exo trajectory (+150km high) could destroy all electric components in an area equivalent to europe. this in 1962! 3 to 4 nuclear emp will make the “almighty” west come back to medieval era! but there are men in russia or china? or only gayliberals? they can even test a nuke! shameful!
this plane looks like a nice legitimate target!