CDF airborne warning and control

Airborne warning and control systems allow the Sober Thought's Community Defence Forces to manage its air traffic control from the sky.

Although this definition seems simple, it can blur into the closely related but nevertheless separate fields of electronic warfare and reconnaissance. In comparison to its cousins, true AWACS observe (rather than interfere as with EW) and communicate (rather than fly on the black as with recce). Also unlike its cousins, every AWACS aircraft is purpose built because of the large number and greater complexity of its electronic systems.

For each wave of one hundred million national population, the Air Service raises three and a third squadrons of various types of jet and prop AWACS aircraft. The units used by the Strategic Air Corps, the Army Air Corps, the Coastal Defence Command and the Carrier Air Group will each be discussed in turn. Complete squadrons bear ordinal numbers in the same sequence, while the flight bears a name only in combination with a numbered and named Carrier Electronics Squadron.

Strategic Air Corps AWACS

The CDF Air Service keeps each wave for its own SAC one heavy or strategic AWACS squadron. It is equipped with nine quad jetted airplanes in the T series of strategic transport aircraft.

As befitting its size and intended use, it has both a large flight crew and cabin crew. The flight crew is identical in composition to that of the normal T airplane, but the cabin crew are mainly concerned with operating radar and communications equipment in the passenger compartment. Three shifts of 30 people, along with 5 command, and 15 food and safety personnel, work in the back around the clock if need be.

Army Air Corps AWACS

The Air Service assigns to its own Army Air Corps a medium or theatre AWACS squadron. However, this formation and its subordinate unit is under the operational control of the CDF Land Service. The squadron is equipped with nine of the smaller twin jetted airplanes in the T series of strategic transport aircraft.

Consequently, its flight crew and cabin crew are smaller. The flight crew is identical in composition to that of the normal T airplane for its size, but the cabin crew are mainly concerned with operating radar and communications equipment in the rear compartment. Three shifts of 20, along with 5 command, and 10 food and safety personnel, work in the back around the clock if need be.

Coastal Defence Command AWACS

The Air Service assigns to its own Coastal Defence Air Group a light or tactical AWACS squadron. However, this air group and its AWACS squadron are broken up into three wings and is under the tri-service Coastal Defence commands, and hence effectively under the operational control of the CDF Naval Service. The squadron is equipped with nine E-78 turbo-propellered aircraft, the non-combat version of the more common EB-78 maritime patrol airplane.

This is the smallest AWACS airplane, and its flight crew is identical in composition to and the cabin crew only slightly larger than that of the EB-78. The cabin crew are concerned solely with operating radar and communications equipment in the rear compartment. Two shifts of 6 personnel each work in the back, around the clock if need be. Of all the three AWACS airplanes, this offers the most uncomfortable and cramped quarters.

Carrier Air Group AWACS

And finally, the Air Service assigns to its own Carrier Air Group a tactical AWACS flight. However, the AWACS flight and the Carrier Electronics Squadron (bearing the same ordinal number as the population wave) it belongs to are under the operational control of the Naval Service. The flight is equipped with three E-78s.

The flight and cabin crew composition is identical to that of the CDC squadron, and bear a name only, taking its identity from the squadron, e.g., Warning and Control (or AWACS) Flight of the 4th Carrier Electronics Squadron. The flight uses the three letter squadron code assigned to the composite squadron, plus a fourth letter to the right of the roundel to identify the specific plane (and keep it distinct from the three FNE-1 Fannie EW jets). Although only a flight rather than a full-fledged squadron, the AWACS sub-unit maintains an extra crew which also includes the command staff.

Although the majority of the active flights in the electronics squadron comes from elsewhere -- EW, tower-based air traffic control and tower-based signals -- the AWACS flight accounts for more people. The flight's contribution to the flying crew is 64 (inclusive of the command staff's extra crew), to the Carrier Utility Wing's air maintenance squadron 36 and to the CUW's administration squadron 25 (exclusive of the command staff's extra crew).

Airborne warning and control aircraft variants

The Community Defence Forces' TE quad jet strategic AWACS aircraft is modelled on a scaled up version of the real world E-3 AWACS or Air Force One in its airborne National Command Authority mode. Strategic AWACS detachments or flights might be needed in densely filled airspace during major air transport movements or bombing missions. They could also provide mobile air traffic control for areas lacking, whether through lack of technology or destruction, conventional ground-based ATC.

The somewhat smaller TE twin-jet AWACS more closely resembles the AWACS on the inside but less so on the outside, where it still looks like an Airbus-series. It is useful for theatre ATC and radar detection, or perhaps lighter tasks at higher levels that are unsuited to its larger sibling.

Strictly speaking, the E-78 turbo-propellered airplanes are the only purpose built AWACS aircraft because it was designed as an airborne ATC aircraft. It is modelled on the Nimrod and P-3 Orion if they exchanged their dual surveillance-ASW roles for dual surveillance-ATC roles. Since these light AWACS airplanes are operating in the coastal commands and the carrier air groups, endurance and fuel economy are at a premium. In the former case, they are also operating primarily with other turbo-props or slow-moving helicopters.

Silhouettes and fuller technical details to be fabricated later for all aircraft.