Not long after sunrise, I was sitting in the car, radio on, waiting for the sunsetting of E-3 Sentry 77-0352 "Ninja." The cloudless sky was turning from a rusty orange to a dirty blue as the sun came up in the cloudless sky.
"Yukla Four Zero, Taxi Via Bravo, Hotel, Golf until the end. Contact Tower when ready."
I threw my seatbelt back on and shifted the car into drive to make my way to the parking spot to wait for the aircraft to be cleared onto the runway. We had a nice procession of vehicles carrying a small group of photographers to document the retirement of this Sentry.
"Tinker Tower, Yukla Four Zero, Holding short of Runway One Eight. Ready for departure."
"Yukla Four Zero, Tinker Tower, Runway One Eight, Line up and wait."
We all popped out of our cars and trucks to make our way into our favorite area, still filled with the morning dew on the tall grass. "Ugh. It's still wet," is all I could comment as the dew-soaked grass soaked my shoes and legs. The dirt on the path was still slightly slippery as we made our way into the meadow to pick out our individual spots.
I was without my radio, but Matt had his and heard the call for takeoff. I clicked my cameras on and handed my third child my phone, so he could also record video on it. Before long, the smoke trail was visible and the audible whine of the four TF33 turbofans grew closer, until her nose popped up above the terrain. In the middle of taking photos, I had to open my left eye, just so I could experience the departure not in a lens.
She was soon far away from us, still visible from the smoke pouring from her engines. I couldn't look away and just kept the lens zoomed in and snapping away until it was no longer possible.
Here is the departure of E-3 Sentry 77-0352 "Ninja" on her way to divestment at the 309th AMARG "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ on 13 September 2024. She is the fourteenth E-3 to be divested, the thirteenth to be flown to the Boneyard, and the first of Fiscal Year 2024. The 2024 NDAA sets the E-3 fleet at 16, down from 18 in FY 2023 (16 active and 2 trainers.) The current fleet now stands at 17, which is exactly half of the original 34 aircraft built.
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