30.01.2026
In defence and security, knowing what is approaching matters just as much as responding to it. Airborne Early Warning (AEW) systems play a key role in extending this awareness by detecting and tracking inbound threats from aircraft and missiles. In missile defence, the earliest possible identification of a target and its trajectory is critical.
How is AEW delivered today?
Most AEW capability is generated from airborne platforms equipped with powerful radar and sensor systems. These are usually converted airliners, business jets, turboprops, or naval helicopters that have been adapted for AEW missions. Satellite constellations provide additional coverage from orbit, while ground-based systems help complete the wider picture. Together, they can form a network that improves situational understanding and increases warning time – one of the objectives of the US Golden Dome programme and of similar missile defence programmes worldwide
Maintaining this capability carries significant cost and complexity. Dedicated AEW aircraft require specialised crews, ongoing training, and continual upgrades. Long missions may need aerial refuelling when secure airfields are lacking nearby. Basing, fuel, and maintenance must also be supported within or near operational areas, which adds to logistical burden and financial pressure.
Why can’t satellites perform the whole AEW role?
Space-based sensors offer some advantages—particularly in areas where airborne operations are difficult. Nations with satellite programmes can achieve wide area coverage without deploying aircraft into contested airspace. However, satellites have small sensors with small power availability and this reduces their effectiveness. Additionally, they cannot be easily upgraded once launched, and they face vulnerabilities related to communication links, space debris, and potential anti-satellite activity. They also lack some of the key capabilities of atmospheric sensors and are affected by cloud cover. As a result, they supplement rather than replace airborne AEW for most nations.
Why are airborne platforms so critical to AEW systems?
For the foreseeable future, aircraft will remain the primary method for delivering AEW. They can carry large, power-hungry radar systems, can be adapted as threats evolve, and can reposition quickly when needed. There are efforts to explore uncrewed aircraft for this role, but current uncrewed platforms struggle with the power and payload required, due to their relatively small size and the data-handling requirements of modern AEW sensors. There is a preference for crew to be onboard because bandwidth limitations make transmitting raw radar data for remote processing difficult, which restricts their effectiveness.
What role could Airlander play?
Airlander introduces a different way of sustaining AEW coverage. It has the ability to remain airborne for days at a time without in-flight refuelling, reducing the number of take-offs, landings, and handovers needed to keep a sensor on station. It can operate from a variety of surfaces, including water, which opens up basing options beyond traditional airfields. Its size and available onboard power allow it to carry and support substantial radars, mission systems, and supporting equipment.
This endurance and flexibility makes it possible to hold a continuous AEW presence along borders, ahead of naval groups, or over areas of interest without relying on frequent refuelling cycles or crew changes. For maritime operations, Airlander can provide elevated sensor coverage without using limited carrier deck space, as it can be sustained from land or by auxiliary vessels at sea. Ultimately, this means that a single Airlander equipped for AEW can perform the same role as multiple fixed-wing aircraft.
What else can Airlander do?
Beyond AEW, Airlander’s power, volume, and endurance allow it to host a wider set of mission systems enabling it to deliver even more capability. In addition to radar and early warning equipment, it can accommodate systems used for command, control, communications, communications, cyber, intelligence, and other surveillance roles such as anti-submarine warfare. Its construction also allows mission equipment to be updated more easily than both traditional aircraft and space-based assets, helping it stay relevant against evolving threats.
As defence environments become more contested and more dynamic, the value of persistent airborne awareness continues to grow. Airlander offers an efficient and viable route toward delivering that persistence with fewer logistical demands, improving the ability to maintain continuous situational awareness, complementing AEW platforms while overcoming their constraints and limitations.