The EP-3 ARIES is a
United States Navy signals intelligence aircraft, designed for
electronic surveillance and
reconnaisance missions in a military setting.
It is powered by four Allison T56-A-14 turboprop engines, has a liftoff weight of approximately 140,000 lbs and a maximum speed of approximately 400 miles per hour.
The EP-3 is typically equipped with several antennae, as well as a 13-foot round radar "flower pot" (similar to the large radar dome on the E-3 Sentry AWACS craft) and a long, antenna-housing "canoe" to hold additional surveillance equipment.
On April 1, 2001, an American EP-3 was damaged in a collision with a Chinese F-8 {piloted by Wang Wei) and forced to make an emergency landing on Hianan Island, causing something of an international incident between the Chinese government and the United States' new administration, headed by recently-elected president George W. Bush.