French AWACS in flight

French AWACS E-3F aircraft, like the one in flight here, will soon be improved. The Electronic Systems Center recently awarded a contract to upgrade the French AWACS fleet with more modern capabilities. (Courtesy photo)

Combat Track II in use

An aircrew member uses the Combat Track II system, the 500th of which was delivered to the field last month. CT II allows crew aboard the air mobility fleet, as well as on some bombers, to maintain full awareness of friendly and potential hostile aircraft positions. It also alerts them to ground threats, including mobile surface-to-air missile sites. (Courtesy Photo)

85th APS Deactivitation

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - The aerial port training aid, which belongs to the 85th Aerial Port Squadron, sits at Hanscom following repairs made by squadrons within the 913th Airlift Wing from Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Penn., in 2006. The future of the wingless C-130 APTA, nicknamed ‘Old 5019’ because of its tail number, is uncertain. The 85 APS deactivates Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. during a ceremony held at the Hanscom Aero Club Hangar after nearly 50 years of aerial port operations supporting the nation’s wartime and peacetime military and humanitarian campaigns since 1960. (U.S. Air Force file photo)

AWACS gets new seats

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- A maintenance crew member at Tinker AFB, Okla., installs a new operator stations seat aboard an E-3 AWACS recently. The new seats are expected to help alleviate back and neck stress for crews on long-duration missions. (Courtesy Photo)

AWACS testing team

Members of a special E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System testing team pose for a group photo after a flight trial held in Germany last month. The ground and flight tests on a NATO AWACS made strides in proving that the waveforms cause no interference to military and civilian air traffic control. Participants included representation from ESC's 635th Electronic Systems Squadron, Belgium, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. (Courtesy photo)

Makeover for F-86

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. –James Gouveia of R. J. McAuliffe Painting, Lowell, Mass., paints stripes on Hanscom’s F-86 Sabre static display on May 29. Both the F-86 and the P-40 displays are getting makeovers, complete with fresh coats of paint and some corrosion repair work to preserve the base’s heritage displays. (U.S. Air Force photo by Linda LaBonte Britt)