Sunday, January 15, 2012

E-3 Sentry

An E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., flies a mission. The E-3 Sentry is modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome. The dome is 30 feet in diameter, 6 feet thick and is held 11 feet 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 for low-flying targets and farther for aerospace vehicles flying at medium to high altitudes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John K. McDowell)

E-3 Sentry

An E-3 Sentry takes off in support of Exercise Iron Thunder Feb. 7 at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. The excercise helped prepare Airmen for airborne operations while deployed. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Matthew Davis)

E-3 Sentry

An E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft flies a surveillance mission over the eastern Pacific Ocean Aug. 1 to find drug runners. The Sentry is deployed to Forward Operating Location Manta, Ecuador, from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo)

E-3 Sentry

An E-3 A NATO E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System prepares to touch the tarmac after participating in Red Flag-Alaska 2009 April 30 at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. This exercise enabled flying squadrons to enhance their fighting capabilities in simulated combat sorties in a realistic threat environment. The 10-day exercise ended May 1. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Laura Turner)

E-3 Sentry

An E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft takes off Aug. 25 from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., while participating in a Red Flag exercise. Red Flag offers pilots and ground crews training in actual wartime scenarios to increase their combat skills. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Robert J. Sabonis)

E-3 Sentry

A combined Electronic Systems Center team from Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., recently tested the joint interoperability of a prototype interrogator for an E-3 Sentry AWACS, such as the one shown here. (U.S. Air Force photo)

C-9 Nightangle

A C-9 Nightangle from the 30th Airlift Squadron, takes off for the final time after a farewell ceremony here. The C-9, which has served as the premier medical evacuation aircraft for the Air Force for 35 years, was retired in July 2003. (U.S. Air Force photo Master Sgt. Val Gempis)

C-9 Nightangle

A C-9 Nightangle from the 30th Airlift Squadron, takes off for the final time after a farewell ceremony here. The C-9, which has served as the premier medical evacuation aircraft for the Air Force for 35 years, was retired in July 2003. (U.S. Air Force photo Master Sgt. Val Gempis)

C-9 Nightingale

First Lt. Allen Specht boards his C-9 Nightingale for the final time Sept. 14. Specht is assigned to the 30th Airlift Squadron here. The Nightingale, which served as the premier medical-evacuation aircraft for the Air Force for 35 years, was retired in July and taken to the "boneyard" at Davis- Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. In 2002, the 30th AS accumulated more than 3,200 flying hours during 1,280 sorties, while airlifting more than 10,300 patients and passengers in the Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis)

C-9 Nightingale

The C-9 is a twin-engine, T-tailed, medium-range, swept-wing jet aircraft used primarily for Air Mobility Command's aeromedical evacuation mission. The Nightingale is a modified version of the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation's DC-9. It is the only aircraft in the inventory specifically designed for the movement of litter and ambulatory patients. The C-9A's airlift capability to carry 40 litter patients, 40 ambulatory and four litter patients, or various combinations thereof, provides the flexibility for Air Mobility Command's worldwide aeromedical evacuation role. A hydraulically operated folding ramp allows efficient loading and unloading of litter patients and special medical equipment. (U.S. Air Force Photo)