E-3 Sentry
US Air Force AWACS aircraft; one destroyed at Prince Sultan base on 27 March 2026.
Last refreshed: 3 April 2026
What replaced the E-3 Sentry destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base?
Latest on E-3 Sentry
- What is the E-3 Sentry aircraft?
- The E-3 Sentry is the US Air Force AWACS aircraft, providing over-the-horizon radar surveillance and airborne battle management since 1977.Source: lowdown
- Was an E-3 AWACS destroyed in the Iran war?
- Yes. An E-3 Sentry was destroyed by an Iranian Ballistic missile at Prince Sultan Air Base on 27 March 2026, the first combat loss of an AWACS in US history.Source: lowdown
- What replaced the destroyed E-3 Sentry?
- CENTCOM accelerated deployment of the EA-37B Compass Call, a pre-IOC electronic warfare aircraft, to partially fill the battle management gap.Source: lowdown
- How significant was the E-3 loss at Prince Sultan?
- It was the first combat loss of a US AWACS, created an immediate battle management gap, and forced premature deployment of a not-yet-operational replacement aircraft.Source: lowdown
- What is replacing the E-3 Sentry?
- The E-7 Wedgetail is the planned replacement, but the EA-37B was deployed as an emergency stopgap after the Prince Sultan loss.Source: USAF
Background
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is the US Air Force's primary Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, providing over-the-horizon radar surveillance, battle management, and command and control for joint air operations. Powered by four turbofan engines and carrying a distinctive rotating radar dome, a single E-3 can track hundreds of aircraft simultaneously across a radius exceeding 300 miles. On 27 March 2026, an Iranian Ballistic missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia destroyed one E-3 Sentry, the first combat loss of an AWACS aircraft in US history.
The destruction of the Prince Sultan E-3 created an immediate battle management gap over the theatre, forcing CENTCOM to accelerate the deployment of the EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft as a partial substitute. The EA-37B had not yet reached Initial Operational Capability at the time of deployment. Two aircraft (AXIS41, AXIS43) departed RAF Mildenhall on 2 April, underscoring the urgency.
The E-3 fleet is ageing: the aircraft entered service in 1977 and the Air Force has been transitioning to the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as its replacement, though that programme has faced repeated delays. The loss at Prince Sultan exposed the vulnerability of large, slow, high-value airborne assets to modern Ballistic Missiles and has accelerated internal Pentagon debate over how to distribute battle management capability across more survivable, dispersed platforms.