The USAir Force is to evaluate the benefit of integrating the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) with the US Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) sensor network.
A series of simulations will be conducted in mid-August as part of efforts to define a Block 40/45 upgrade of the Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS, says Mike Chester, USAF programme manager at CEC developer Raytheon.
Side-by-side simulations of CEC-equipped and non-CEC aircraft will allow the USAF to assess the benefit of integrating the AWACS into the real-time sensor network, being developed to link the radars on USN Aegis warships and airborne early warning Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes.
The tests will involve engineering simulators for the AWACS and F-15 Eagle at Boeing's Seattle and St Louis plant. "They will be able to electronically stack the simulations to extract the [benefit] information," Chester says.
The CEC architecture is a candidate for the US Department of Defense's Single Integrated Air Picture (SIAP) programme. The SIAP is a real-time database that will synthesise and distribute a common picture of the air battle for users ranging from the joint chiefs to fielded forces.
Source: Flight International
