The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of RE-3A Tactical Airborne Surveillance System Aircraft Modernization and related equipment for an estimated cost of $582 million. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested to buy aircraft hardware and software modifications and support to replenish and modernize its RE-3A Tactical Airborne Surveillance System (TASS) aircraft, including: 7 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) (EGI) security devices, Airborne, with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) or M-Code capability, and 5 L3Harris BlackRock Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites. Also included are KY-100M narrowband/wideband secure communications terminals; KIV-77 MODE 4/5 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) cryptographic appliques; AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loaders; integrated electronic intelligence (ELINT)/signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems; L-3 Communication Systems-West (CSW) multiband receivers/transmitters; ARC-210 radios; high frequency (HF) radios; secure communications equipment; precision navigation and cryptographic devices and support equipment; The principal contractor will be L3Harris Technologies, Greenville, TX.
The Royal Saudi Air Force purchased five E-3A aircraft in 1983. The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control, and communications. In 2004, modifications began to convert KE-3A tankers into RE-3 electronic intelligence gathering aircraft. It is one of 13 707 derivatives in service with Saudi Arabia. The others comprise five E-3A Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft and seven KE-3A tankers. The RE-3A are among the Royal Saudi Air Force’s most secretive platforms, conducting SIGINT operations and the gathering of electronic data. The upgrade of the RE-3A could see them move to the RE-3B ‘Improved’ standard. The aircraft are similar to the RC-135 Rivet Joint operated by the US and UK, which were derived from the C-135 design from Boeing. Saudi’s Arabia’s RE-3A/B aircraft share a common ancestry, through the Boeing 707 platform powered by four CFM International CFM56 engines. All Rivet Joint airframe and mission systems modifications are performed by L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas, under the oversight of the Air Force Materiel Command.
