This is an important asymmetry in the jet-age story. Interceptors needed speed, while airborne-warning aircraft needed to stay aloft with a heavy radar installation for as long as possible. Piston propulsion offered useful endurance and payload characteristics even as jets transformed the threat and fighter missions around it. The mixed air group was therefore a deliberate operational answer, not a failure to embrace jet technology.
Notable Point · 2:42:12-2:43:00
Why early-warning aircraft stayed piston powered
The aircraft that made faster jets manageable could remain piston powered because its mission valued endurance and payload over speed.