US military E-3B Sentry declares emergency over Saudi Arabia

A US Air Force Boeing E-3B Sentry airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft declared an in-flight emergency while flying over Saudi Arabia on July 23, according to publicly available flight tracking data.

The aircraft transmitted the international 7700 squawk code, signalling a general emergency, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media. 

The code is used by pilots to alert air traffic controllers to a serious situation requiring priority assistance.

The cause of the emergency was not immediately known. A 7700 squawk may be triggered by a variety of situations, including technical malfunctions, low fuel, an onboard fire or other urgent operational issues.

Neither the US Air Force nor Saudi authorities had issued an official statement on the incident at the time of writing.

The emergency signal came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.

By Aghakazim Guliyev