Canada rejoins NATO Airborne Warning and Control System program

[Eagle_Eye_View]

Ah!  :rofl:

We need incentives to attract potential instructors.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

You are probably the only unit to send a name up.

Funny how the school seems to be sending folks first to Sig and now Creech. 

The name I heard was not from the School. Just sayin...

 

[Sub_Guy]

The name I heard was not from the School. Just sayin...

Good to know.  It is extremely disappointing and demotivating when it comes to news like this. 

Does anyone know if there is an appetite to get Canadian aircrew (not this year) back in the NATO AWACS?  Or are we just going to throw $$$ at the program. 

Was there a posting for an ACSO within the NATO AWAC community?  Asking for a friend.

 

[Baz]

Good to know.  It is extremely disappointing and demotivating when it comes to news like this. 

Does anyone know if there is an appetite to get Canadian aircrew (not this year) back in the NATO AWACS?  Or are we just going to throw $$$ at the program. 

Was there a posting for an ACSO within the NATO AWAC community?  Asking for a friend.

I know there was at least one ACSO only Maj position, and one LCol that I *think* was ACSO only; they were both flying positions.  I'm pretty sure there were more.

However, it is unlikely that the ACSO position's will return, even if aircrew are being sent at some point.  The NATO AWACS cockpit is being transitioned to glass, and the navigator being removed from the aircraft, so ACSOs won't be required in the force.

 

[Edward Campbell]

When I was in HQ AFCENT (Brunssum, NL) in the 1980s I met a lot of the Canadian in Geilenkirchen:* there were lots of flying jobs and also a large support contingent, including a couple of C&E Branch colonels and a few AERE and Log officers in the NATO AWACS organization.

_____
* It was only 10 miles away

 

[dimsum]

However, it is unlikely that the ACSO position's will return, even if aircrew are being sent at some point.  The NATO AWACS cockpit is being transitioned to glass, and the navigator being removed from the aircraft, so ACSOs won't be required in the force.

I guess if that's the case, then the Canadian ACSO positions in Elmendorf, AK and Tinker, OK will be gone soon too  :'(

 

[AirDet]

You are probably the only unit to send a name up.

Funny how the school seems to be sending folks first to Sig and now Creech. 

Thant doesn't surprise me. The SCWO here is really big on getting people as much experience as possible. He's all about career progression. It's nice to see.

 

[Baz]

I guess if that's the case, then the Canadian ACSO positions in Elmendorf, AK and Tinker, OK will be gone soon too  :'(

I'm not sure about that... NATO AWACS and US AWACS are different and are having different upgrade paths.  I don't know if the US is removing the nav or not.

My info comes from when I was NATO AGS... at the time AGS belonged to NAEW&C Force Command which was (is) co-located with SHAPE at Mons, Belgium; NAEW&C FC was also the parent command of the Force in GK.  AGS moved out of NAEW&C FC while I was there; I'm not sure who the belong to now.

If you would like to know why AGS belonged to NAEW&C at the time...


Edited to add:

It looks like both the US and NATO AWACS are getting the same upgrade and removing the nav.  Various sources say it, but the clearest I quickly found was:

As the name DRAGON (Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Replacement of Avionics for Global Operations and Navigation) suggests, one of the problems the AWACS fleets are having is finding parts for their old avionics. Both the USA (Block 40-45) and NATO (Mid-Term Modernisation) have implemented billion-dollar upgrade programs for radar and mission systems over the last decade, but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t fly the plane. New ICAO standards as of 2015 add another layer of urgency, in order to keep the fleet flying within international civil airspace.

The upgrade will reduce the flight deck crew from 4 people to 3, with the removal of the previous navigator position.

https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/enter-the-dragon-nato-usa-upgrading-e-3-awacs-cockpits-07428/

As the article implies, my understanding is that the back end (radar and computer) upgrades were different.

 

[Zoomie]

USAF isn’t getting rid of Navigator for quite some time. 

 

[dimsum]

USAF isn’t getting rid of Navigator for quite some time.

The spot on the AWACS, or the trade itself?

 

[dapaterson]

USAF isn’t getting rid of Navigator for quite some time.

Well, somebody has to get the coffee...

 

[Zoomie]

The spot on the AWACS, or the trade itself?

Sorry - that reply of mine was incomplete.

The Navigator role on the E-3G is not being phased out as quickly as the NATO fleets.  DRAGON mod is slow and priority is for NATO vice USAF upgrades.