The grounding of the whole E-3D fleet could have an impact on Middle East aviation operations.
After difficulties with the aircraft’s electrical wiring and cabin cooling system were uncovered, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was forced to ground its E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
According to defensenews.com, the fault was identified during a normal technical inspection of the aircraft on November 4, 2016, and the Sentry fleet will only fly again once the ongoing repair work is completed.
Repairs to the electrical wiring and cabin conditioning system will be carried out at RAF Coningsby, and the E-3D fleet may not be ready to fly again for some weeks.
The Royal Air Force’s six E-3Ds were scheduled to be withdrawn in 2025, but the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) determined that the aircraft would continue active until at least 2035.
The grounding of the entire E-3D fleet could have an impact on air operations in the Middle East, especially since the RAF has one Sentry usually based in Cyprus committed to Operation Shader (the British participation in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL]).
In fact, because of this problem, the US-led coalition’s military operations against ISIL will be short on AEW&C platforms, which are critical for deconflicting planes operating in the same airspace, especially now that the Russian Air and Space Force (RuASF) has increased its air activity over Syria.
Photo by Crown Copyright
