U.S. deploys nearly 40% of entire E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet to Middle East for potential war against Iran.

The US Air Force has deployed six of its 16 remaining E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft to Europe and the Middle East, amid rising US-Iran tensions and ongoing nuclear negotiations, as Washington concentrates forces within the US Central Command area.

As reported by Steffan Watkins on February 18, 2026, the U.S. Air Force has deployed six of its 16 remaining E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft to Europe before heading to the Middle East, amid rising US-Iran tensions and ongoing nuclear negotiations. Two aircraft are already en route to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, while four are positioned at Ramstein Air Base and are expected to follow, as Washington concentrates forces within the US Central Command area. The deployment represents nearly 40 percent of the total U.S. E-3 Sentry fleet and more than half of its statistically mission-capable E-3s, significantly reducing airborne early warning presence in Alaska and the Indo-Pacific.
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Strategically, the deployment of six E-3 Sentries to the Middle East signals that U.S. planners are positioning the key assets needed for a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran, even as diplomacy continues and an actual strike decision remains uncertain. (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)

The U.S. Air Force deployed six of its 16 remaining Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to bases in Europe, with two of those aircraft already continuing toward the Middle East as the biggest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq war, amid tensions with Iran and stalled negotiations focused largely on Tehran’s nuclear program. The six aircraft represent 37.5% of the total E-3 inventory and were moved within a 48-hour window that also saw fighter jets, aerial tankers, and intelligence aircraft repositioned across the Atlantic toward Europe and the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. Washington and Tehran have met twice in recent days, agreeing to continue discussions, while Iranian officials have warned of major retaliation in response to any new U.S. strikes.

Senior U.S. officials have stated that presidential red lines remain in place and that military action remains possible in the coming weeks, which aligns with the current concentration of forces required for a sustained air campaign that could last weeks rather than days. At the same time, the deployment concentrates a significant share of a shrinking and aging E-3 fleet in one theater, reducing flexibility elsewhere. At the time of writing, the six E-3Gs heading to the Middle East included two E-3s departing Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska and landing at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, and four additional AEW&Cs flying from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The six E-3Gs concerned bear the tail numbers 82-0007 (callsign: DNALI01), 75-0556 (00000000), 76-1605 (SHUCK84), 79-0001 (SHUCK85), 81-0005 (SHUCK86), and 76-1604 (SHUCK87) Flight tracking data then showed the two aircraft at Mildenhall departing again and heading toward Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, with the four at Ramstein widely expected to follow the same route. A compiled status overview of fleet positions indicated four E-3s at Ramstein destined for Prince Sultan, two from RAF Mildenhall already en route there, one aircraft remaining at Elmendorf, and all E-3s withdrawn from Kadena Air Base in Japan. This redistribution reduces U.S. airborne early warning coverage in the Indo-Pacific while concentrating capacity in the Middle East.

The repositioning also affects alert support in Alaska, where E-3 aircraft routinely provide radar coverage for fighter intercept missions, which is now reduced to a single locally stationed jet. The current U.S. E-3 Sentry fleet has been reduced from 31 aircraft to 16 between 2023 and 2024, partly to improve overall readiness by concentrating maintenance and support resources. During Fiscal Year 2024, the fleet’s average mission-capable rate was 55.68%, meaning that at any given time fewer than 9 Sentries were statistically available for operational tasking at any given time. In that context, deploying six aircraft represents a much larger proportion of the E-3s that can realistically be flown on short notice by the U.S. Air Force.

Normally, E-3 Sentry AEW&Cs support homeland defense missions in the continental United States and routinely provide radar coverage for alert fighter scrambles in Alaska. With two of the deployed aircraft originating from Elmendorf, current availability in the High North is reduced to a narrow margin. This strain comes amid high global demand by U.S. forces for airborne surveillance and battle management missions. In terms of performance, with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 157,000 kilograms, the E-3 Sentry has a cruise speed of about 580 km/h, while its service ceiling exceeds 8,800 meters. The E-3 Sentry is derived from the Boeing 707-320B Advanced airframe and first entered U.S. service in March 1977, after a development that began in the mid-1960s to replace the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star.

Production ran from 1977 to 1992, with 68 aircraft built in total for the United States and international operators, including NATO, France, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. U.S. E-3 Sentries are powered by four Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-100A turbofan engines, each rated at 96 kN of thrust, engines that are no longer in production and have been cited as a sustainment challenge due to increasing maintenance support. The airframe incorporates a 9.1-meter-diameter rotodome mounted 3.4 meters above the fuselage, housing either the AN/APY-1 or AN/APY-2 radar system. This pulse-Doppler radar can detect low-flying targets beyond 400 kilometers and medium to high altitude aircraft at greater ranges, while including a look-down capability to filter ground clutter and track aircraft, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial systems flying at low altitude.

Electrical generators driven by the engines supply up to 1 megawatt of power for radar, computing, communications, and mission systems. A standard E-3 crew consists of four flight crew members and between 13 and 19 mission specialists operating 14 consoles that display processed radar and battle management/command data. The Sentry integrates radar, identification friend or foe (IFF) systems, electronic support measures, navigation, communications, and onboard computing into a single airborne command node. It can relay data in real time to rear-area command centers or naval units and can support air-to-air, air-to-ground, interdiction, reconnaissance, airlift, and close air support missions. In terms of cost, the Boeing E-3 Sentry has an approximate unit cost of $270 to $300 million (in 1998 dollars, equivalent to $537 to $596 million in 2026 dollars), while operating costs are high with one E-3B Sentry flying for roughly $39,587 per hour.

Unrefueled range exceeds 9,000 kilometers, endurance is more than eight hours, and aerial refueling extends on-station time significantly. The aircraft’s look-down radar is particularly relevant for tracking low-flying drones and cruise missiles, which would likely form part of any Iranian retaliatory response. In past operations, including Desert Storm, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn, the E-3 directed large numbers of coalition aircraft and accumulated thousands of on-station flight hours. Modernization efforts have included the Block 30/35 upgrades, the 1999 Radar System Improvement Program (which costed $1.32 billion), and the Block 40/45 configuration, now redesignated as E-3G.

These E-3 upgrades introduced enhanced electronic surveillance measures, Link 16 connectivity, improved mission computing based on more modern operating environments, revised operator workstations, and cockpit avionics modernization under the DRAGON program. Despite these improvements, the underlying airframes remain more than 30 years old, and maintenance demands continue to increase, as the E-3 is based on a commercial aircraft that is no longer produced. In April 2022, the U.S. Air Force announced that the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail would replace the E-3 beginning in 2027, but subsequent budget decisions proposed terminating the E-7 acquisition, faced delays, budget pressure, and debate over a longer-term transition of sensor-layer tasks to space-based systems and interim solutions involving additional E-2 Hawkeye.

The U.S. Congress has now blocked further E-3 retirements through the end of Fiscal Year 2026 and moved to preserve the E-7 acquisition program, yet timelines remain uncertain, as the projected availability of new space-based capabilities is not expected before the early 2030s. The broader 2026 U.S. military buildup in the Middle East includes F-15Es, F-35s, F-22s, and F-16 fighter jets, tanker aircraft, intelligence platforms such as the communications relay aircraft and RC-135 electronic surveillance aircraft, and additional naval assets, such as two aircraft carrier strike groups, in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The E-3’s role in coordinating such large strike packages, managing defensive counterair operations, and maintaining real-time situational awareness across land and maritime domains makes it a central enabler for any sustained campaign against Iran.

However, the concentration of nearly 40% of the U.S. E-3 Sentry fleet in one theater reduces the limited margin available for contingencies in the Indo-Pacific, where geographic distance increases transit times, sortie generation requirements, and coverage demands. The Pacific theater’s expanse requires significant time to transit to operating areas, complicating rapid redeployment if a crisis emerges there. China has expanded its own airborne early warning fleet to cover broad areas from home bases, underscoring the importance of such capabilities in high-end conflict scenarios. With only 16 aircraft in total and a mission-capable rate slightly above 55%, the margin for simultaneous major contingencies in different regions remains limited for the U.S.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.