AWACS Over Fairhope
A U.S. Air Force Boeing E-3B Sentry flies over Fairhope while on a training mission the morning of MAR 17th 2026. Captured 31,025 feet or 5.8 miles up, the aircraft moves at a ground speed of 433 knots or 498 mph while flying patterns from Baldwin county on the west to Santa Rosa Island, FL, on the east.
With its distinctive 30 foot diameter rotating radar dome mounted 11 feet above the fuselage, the aircraft is frequently referred to as AWACS, for Airborne Warning and Control System. The E-3 is used extensively for air and sea surveillance, command and control, and weapons control and has extensive communications capability. The radar system can conduct surveillance from the Earth’s surface up into the stratosphere. Obtaining detailed battlefield information, as well as tracking both enemy and friendly aircraft and ships all fall within the E-3’s intelligence gathering abilities. The information air crews gather can be sent to major command and control centers, and during times of crisis, to the President and Secretary of War. One of the Sentry’s biggest benefits is its ability to detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far from the boundaries of the United States or NATO countries, making it possible to send fighter aircraft to intercept enemy targets, according to the Air Force. A Sentry can stay in the air for up to eight hours, although it can be refueled while flying. The aircraft is built using the airframe of Boeing’s commercial 707 passenger jet.
The Air Force on MAR 12th 2026 awarded $2.4 billion in contract modifications to Boeing to build two prototypes of the E-7 Wedgetail, a new and advanced AWACS aircraft that might ultimately replace the aging fleet of E-3 Sentrys, which is becoming harder and costlier to maintain. Current contracts for E-7 prototypes total to just over $5 billion. The Air Force tried to cancel the Wedgetail, but Congressional lawmakers insisted that development of the new aircraft be pursued. Wedgetails are already flying, having been purchased by Australia, South Korea, and Turkey.
The E-3B seen over Fairhope this morning is typically flown by members of the 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron based at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Photo shot from Fairhope, roughly 6.5 miles below the aircraft…