Replacing the U.S. Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft that was hit by an Iranian strike could cost the United States more than $700 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American early warning aircraft. It can scan wide areas to detect friendly and enemy aircraft and missiles, as well as help direct fire.
It is in service with the air forces of the U.S., the U.K., France and Saudi Arabia. It has a top speed of 880 km/h (550 mph). Its tactical range is 1,612 km (1,000 mi).
The most likely replacement for the lost Boeing E-3 Sentry is the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, which costs over $700 million per aircraft to produce by 2025. The U.S. Air Force has said that Boeing could produce up to seven Wedgetails with sufficient funding. However, the U.S. military relies on older E-3s from the Cold War era.
According to the U.S. Department of the Air Force website, the United States operates 31 E-3 Sentry aircraft: Air Action Command at Tinker Air Force Base has 27, while Pacific Air Forces has four at Kadena Air Base, Japan, and Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
NATO operates 17 E-3As and support equipment. The first E-3 was delivered to the alliance in January 1982. Britain has seven E-3s, France has four, and Saudi Arabia has five. Japan has four AWACS aircraft, built on the fuselage of the Boeing 767.
According to the Wall Street Journal, however, recent data shows that the US fleet has been reduced to approximately 16 E-3 Sentry aircraft.
The Wall Street Journal and the Air & Space Forces reported yesterday that an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia damaged an E-3 Sentry.
According to them, ten US service members were injured, two of them seriously. It was noted that several drones were also used in the attack.
„The plane was attacked on Friday by at least six ballistic missiles and 29 drones. "Around 15 American servicemen were injured, five of whom are in critical condition," the IRGC said in a statement.
The chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted a photo of the crashed plane on his X page, ironically adding: "It suffered only minor damage." The published images show the extent of the destruction. In one photo, the midsection of the plane is completely destroyed. In another, the plane's tail has been cut off and it has fallen onto the runway, surrounded by scattered debris.
The Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) is an air base in Saudi Arabia, located in Al-Kharj Governorate, approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Riyadh.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that in the first three weeks of the Iran war, the United States lost ten warplanes and dozens of drones, the repair and replacement of which could cost between $1.4 billion and $2.9 billion.