The E-3 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) was first carried aboard militarized 707 commercial aircraft with a rotating radome mounted above the fuselage carrying the airplane’s avionics and radar. It has a 360-degree view of an area and at operating altitudes can detect, identify and display hostile aircraft and friendly aircraft in the same airspace more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) away.

The first E-3 entered U.S Air Force service in 1977, preceded by more than 10 years of competitive fly-offs, prototype design and development. Thirty-four U.S. AWACS aircraft were delivered to the Air Force, the last in 1984.

By 1994, 68 707 AWACS aircraft were in service worldwide with the United States, NATO, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Kingdom. E-3 AWACS provided airborne surveillance and command and control functions over Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.