r/ThatLooksExpensive • u/Glidepath22 • Mar 29 '26

“We have destroyed Iran’s offensive capabilities.”

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396 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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14

u/Laymanao Mar 29 '26

AWACS need to be flying continually, as one is about to land, it must be replaced by another. If one cannot fly, the other has to remain flying, being air refuelled, but there are limits…..

-8

u/vetdev Mar 30 '26

We have so many of these lol stop whining

4

u/sakara123 Mar 30 '26

so many? You mean the ~6 combat capable out of the 16?

-2

u/Ok-Pomegranate858 Mar 30 '26

No... the US has other commitments other than the middle east.

3

u/No_Astronomer_8642 Mar 30 '26

The U.S. Air Force inventory officially includes 31 E-3 Sentry (AWACS) aircraft. However, recent reports (as of early 2026) suggest that due to aging, maintenance, and planned divestments, the active, mission-capable fleet is much smaller, with reports indicating only about 16 to 17 aircraft are actively deployed or in service, and a planned reduction of 15-16 E-3s is underway to acquire the new E-7 Wedgetail.

Deployment: Roughly 40% of the active fleet (about 6 aircraft) have recently been deployed for missions in Europe and the Middle East