E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System)

Mission: The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications needed by commanders of U.S. and NATO air defense forces. As proven in Desert Storm, it is the premier air battle command and control aircraft in the world today.

Features: The E-3 Sentry is a modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome. The dome is 30 feet (9.1 meters) in diameter, six feet (1.8 meters) thick, and is held 11 feet (3.3 meters) above the fuselage by two struts. It contains a radar subsystem that permits surveillance from the Earth's surface up into the stratosphere, over land or water. The radar has a range of more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) for low-flying targets and farther for

aerospace vehicles flying at medium to high altitudes. The radar combined with an identification friend or foe subsystem can look down to detect, identify and track enemy and friendly low-flying aircraft by eliminating ground clutter returns that confuse other radar systems.

Other major subsystems in the E-3 are navigation, communications and computers (data processing). Consoles display computer-processed data in graphic and tabular format on video screens. Console operators perform surveillance, identification, weapons control, battle management and communications functions.

The radar and computer subsystems on the E-3 Sentry can gather and present broad and detailed battlefield information. Data is collected as events occur. This includes position and tracking information on enemy aircraft and ships, and location and status of friendly aircraft and naval vessels. The information can be sent to major command and control centers in rear areas or aboard ships. In time of crisis, this data can be forwarded to the National Command Authorities in the United States.

With its mobility as an airborne warning and control system, the Sentry has an excellent chance of surviving in war. Among other things, the flight path can quickly be changed according to mission and survival requirements. The E-3 can fly a mission profile for more than 8 hours without refueling. Its range and on-station time can be increased through inflight refueling.

Primary Function: Airborne surveillance, command, control and communications

Builder: Boeing Aerospace Co.

Power Plant: Four Pratt and Whitney TF33-PW-100A turbofan engines

Thrust: 21,000 pounds each engine

Length: 145 feet, 6 inches (44 meters)

Wingspan: 130 feet, 10 inches (39.7 meters)

Height: 41 feet, 4 inches (12.5 meters)

Rotodome: 30 feet in diameter (9.1 meters), 6 feet thick (1.8 meters), mounted 11 feet (3.33 meters) above fuselage

Speed: Optimum cruise 360 mph (Mach 0.48)

Ceiling: Above 29,000 feet (8,788 meters)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 347,000 pounds (156,150 kilograms)

Endurance: More than 8 hours (unrefueled)

Unit Cost: Approximately $270 million

Date Deployed: March 1977

Point of Contact -- Air Combat Command, Public Affairs Office; 115 Thompson St, Ste 211; Langley AFB, Va. 23665-1987; DSN 574-5007 or (757) 764-5007.

OH-58 Kiowa

The Kiowa Warrior provides the army with a helicopter capable of performing various scouting and observation missions. The Kiowa's small size and agility enable it to slip between tree lines, or down a streambed, to sneak up on an opponent. Equipped with a Mast Mounted Sight, the Kiowa can report back to headquarters by voice radio, directly to other aircraft through the Airborne Target Hand-over System (ATHS), or to artillery firing units via TACFIRE. Normally, the OH-58D will be the eyes for other systems. But if necessary it can be equipped with both air-to-air systems like the Stinger and air-to-ground

systems like the Hellfire.

Crew: 2

Speed: 120 knots

Range : 416 km

Engine: Single turbine engine.

Recognition Features

Two-bladed main rotor; two-bladed tail rotor

Rectangular fuselage

Large Vertical fin attached to tail boom

Bubble-type or flat-plate windshield

Armament: Varies

Point Of Contact: United States Military Academy

Minuteman III

Mission: The LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile is an element of the nation's strategic deterrent forces. The "L" in LGM is the Department of Defense designation for silo-launched; "G" means surface attack; and "M" stands for guided missile.

Features: The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center. A variety of communication systems provide the National Command Authorities with highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each launch crew. Should command capability be lost between the launch control center and remote missile launch facilities, specially-configured EC-135 airborne launch control center aircraft automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile

or missiles. Fully qualified airborne missile combat crews aboard airborne launch control center aircraft would execute the NCA orders.

Background: The Minuteman weapon system was conceived in the late 1950s and deployed in the early 1960s. Minuteman was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical achievement. Both the missile and basing components incorporated significant advances beyond the relatively slow-reacting, liquid-fueled, remotely-controlled intercontinental ballistic missiles of the previous generation. From the beginning, Minuteman missiles have provided a quick-reacting, inertially guided, highly survivable component to America's nuclear Triad. Minuteman's maintenance concept capitalizes on high reliability and a "remove and replace" approach to achieve a near 100 percent alert rate.

General Characteristics

Primary function: Intercontinental ballistic missile

Contractor: Boeing Co.

Power plant: Three solid-propellant rocket motors; first stage, Thiokol; second stage, Aerojet-General; third stage, United Technologies Chemical Systems Division

Thrust: First stage, 202,600 pounds (91,170 kilograms)

Length: 59.9 feet (18 meters)

Weight: 79,432 pounds (32,158 kilograms)

Diameter: 5.5 feet (1.67 meters)

Range: 6,000-plus miles (5,218 nautical miles)

Speed: Approximately 15,000 mph (Mach 23 or 24,000 kph) at burnout

Ceiling: 700 miles (1,120 kilometers)

Load: Re-entry vehicle: General Electric MK 12 or MK 12A

Guidance systems: Inertial system: Autonetics Division of Rockwell International; ground electronic/security system: Sylvania Electronics Systems and Boeing Co.

Warheads: Three (downloaded to one as required by the Washington Summit Agreement, June 1992)

Unit cost: $7 million

Date deployed: June 1970, production cessation: December 1978

Inventory: Active force, 530; Reserve, 0; ANG, 0

Point Of Contact

Air Force Space Command, Public Affairs Office; 150 Vandenberg St., Suite 1105; Peterson AFB, CO 80914-4500; DSN 692-3978 or (719)

554-3978.

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