WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia has received a full series of technological upgrades for its force of US-built E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, defense contractor Boeing said in a news release on Tuesday.
"Boeing has completed a series of upgrades that substantially enhance the technological capabilities of Saudi Arabia’s E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft," the release stated.
Boeing explained that the upgrades, called the Radar System Improvement Program, comprise a new radar computer, a radar control maintenance panel and electrical and mechanical software and hardware.
"The modernized software, multiple radar nodes and overall enhanced operation make this is the most significant upgrade to the AWACS radar since it was developed in the 1970s," Boeing’s Saudi AWACS Program Manager Keith Burns said in the release.
Saudi Arabia has operated Boeing-Built AWACS starting in June 1986, the release noted.
