Designation: McDonnell-Douglas EC-33B Tiger's Eye AWACS Plane

WARNING: DRAFT Material!

I. Dimensions.

• Length: 46.5 meters
• Wingspan: 36.1 meters
• Height: 9.4 meters
• Dry Weight: 50.7 metric tons.

II. Type.

• Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft
• Crew of up to 12:
  • 2 Pilots
  • Mission director
  • Weapons Controller, to support other aircraft in the theater
  • Surveillance Controller
  • 5 Surveillance operators manning the Surveillance center
  • Communications operator
  • Equipment technician

III. Propulsion.

• 4 GE CF4-60C2 turbofan engines paired on either side of the tail providing 53.8 kN of thrust each.
• 4 AlliedSignal 150 kW generators; one per engine for a total output of 600 kW.

IV. Performance:

Maximum speed:	805 kph (at 7010 m)
Service Ceiling:	13.1 km
Maximum range:	9,075 km (without midair refueling)
Maximum Take-Off Weight:	83.2 metric tons

V. Sensory Systems:

Radar System:

• Hughes AWG-20 X-band pulse-Doppler radar, providing long-range detection and tracking of targets at all altitudes.
• Westinghouse APY-5 very-long-range wideband surveillance radar with rotary 12m radome, mounted to plane's fuselage.
• Loral ASARS-3 I-band Side-Looking Synthetic Aperature Radar (SLAR) for imaging and target determination mounted within 3m canoes on either side of the lower fuselage. System is capable of tracking larger targets out to 185.2 km and small vehicles out to 37 km.
• Eaton APX-4 IFF secondary surveillance transponder

Optical tracking:

• Thomson DOS-2000 multi-band digital camera system, for medium range traversable UV, infra-red imaging and optical band detection and tracking;
• Thomson LT-3 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.
• Zeiss TS-2 long range telescopic array for IR spectrum (FLIR).

Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):

• Elettronica Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• OlDelft Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
• Grumman QRC-84 Infra-red Jammer
• Westinghouse ALQ-255(V) bandwidth-tunable, frequency-agile active radar jammer
• GEC Marconi ALA-102 COMINT Pulse Analyzing Receiver
• Expendable jammer dispenser
• Chaff dispenser
• Flares
• Active missile jammers
• Multiple HF through S-band antennas.

VI. Armament:

• None.

VII. Armor:

Full nuclear and chemical protection. Limited protection from hand fired solids and energy beams, shrapnel and other fragments.

VIII. Development:

The Tiger's Eye provided the UN SPACY with an airborne command and control post that was used extensively during the Global Civil War. A few of these aircraft survived the Zentraedi Holocaust and were fielded by the RDF as forward command bases during long range patrols and to put down Zentraedi uprisings. These aircraft were used to extend the RDF sphere of influence into the wastelands and to provide buffer zones around the pockets of civilization that sprang up after the Zentraedi Holocaust. These aircraft were crucial to maintain order so that Earth could recover from the catastrophe.

McDonnell-Douglas provided the winning bid with an extensively modified MD-97ER aircraft. An entirely new wing and twin tail assembly integrating the self-defense systems is provided for the aircraft, as well as dual engines replacing the larger turbines. In addition, the advanced in new materials provided a significantly more durable outer skin thereby improving the survivability of the aircraft. This aircraft is similar to previous AWACS aircraft based on the Boeing 707 and 767 passenger aircraft with a slightly smaller airframe. The radome was used on this model instead of a phased array due to the cost of the system and the tight budget of the United Earth Government during the unrest that preceded the crash of ASS-1.

The Southern Cross Tactical Air Force used the Tiger's Eye for patrolling the wastelands between populated areas. Towards the end of the Southern Cross influence, the the Eyrie EWACS shuttle began to supplant the Tiger's Eye with updated electronics.

See additional design notes.

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