Chile buys three Boeing E-3D Sentry aircraft from UK

20 Ocak 2022

47 Less than a minute

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This image shows the last Royal Air Force E3-D Sentry Aircraft landing back at is home base at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire after its final Operational Tour, you can see in the background family and fellow Squadron personnel waiting to greet them on their return. A Royal Air Force (RAF) Boeing E-3D Sentry has returned to its home base at RAF Waddington following its final mission on Operation Shader, bringing to a close 30 years of operational service. The Sentry aircraft flew its final operational sortie on the 30 July over Iraq as part of the counter-Daesh Op Shader. The aircraft from No.8 Squadron had been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and was the latest and last deployment since 2015. The final aircraft, ZH101, returned to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire on 4 August.

The Chilean Air Force (FACh) has purchased three Boeing E-3D Sentry airborne early warning Mk 1 (AEW1) aircraft from the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) for an undisclosed amount, FACh sources told Janes .

The aircraft, one of which will be used for spare parts, will replace the FACh’s single Boeing 707-385C that was modified in Israel for AEW missions, called IAI Phalcon in Israel and Cóndor in Chile.

The RAF retired the last of its E-3D in 2021, when the FACh started negotiations to buy three. A source told Janes that crews and technicians were sent to the UK in late 2021 to inspect the aircraft and create training courses on their operation. The E-3Ds could fly to Chile this year, the source added.

The 707 Cóndor is near the end of its operational life. Built in 1965 it served as Boeing’s demonstrator and testbed before being sold in 1969 to LAN Chile airline and then to the FACh in 1990.

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