E-3 AWACS: Centerpiece for CAF command, control, and identification?

The position and identification information the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) supplies to a myriad of off-board users is critical to future success on the battlefield. AWACS has progressively become more and more integrated into all military operations. As a direct result of its critical function, the expectations for the crews of AWACS have become progressively more demanding. With the advent of a more extensive use of the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) to share large quantities of battlefield information among Combat Air Force (CAF) combatants, there has been a marked increase in the need to use the position and identification information resident on AWACS. Programmed enhancements to the E-3 mission systems promise to offer a marked increase in onboard identification capabilities. Improvements to the AWACS radar and the processing of onboard data will help produce more accurate and timely position and identification information. However, there are a number of real problems within the AWACS community that must be properly addressed and quickly corrected before they significantly detract from the capacity of the AWACS community to positively influence US military operations on the battlefields of the future. Without near-term resolution to these problems, the E-3 AWACS may falter in its ability to be the centerpiece for CAF command, control, and identification.