US Navy,
NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD: E-2C Hawkeye 849, equipped with a new glass cockpit and navigation upgrades, completed its first test flight as part of the Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management system evaluation Aug. 13.
The two-hour and 20 minute flight over the air station was conducted by CNS/ATM project lead and test pilot Pete Staufenberger, Bryan Pellatt and Lt. Cmdrs. James Borghardt and Mark Asahara of Air Test & Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 here.
“The flight could not have gone better. Overall, the CNS/ATM system and flight displays worked as expected,” said Staufenberger.
Flight testing on the Hawkeye follows the conclusion of a 10-month flight assessment of the same system on C-2 Greyhound 177.
Because of rapid air traffic growth worldwide, the international aviation community and the Federal Aviation Administration have mandated the development and implementation of a system that will make use of assigned airspace more efficient while increasing safety. CNS/ATM includes satellite-based technology designed to enable seamless control and management of air traffic over civilian airspace in the U.S. and abroad. Without the system upgrade, Navy aircraft could be excluded from using critical airspace, decreasing the use of direct paths between locations and extending flight times.
The Hawkeye/Greyhound program office, other Department of Defense platforms and commercial aircrafts are integrating CNS/ATM to improve communication and navigation technology, enhancing air traffic management.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Chris Dotson, CNS/ATM project officer for the Greyhound, the system implementation will ensure that Hawkeyes and Greyhounds continue their distinctive operations without decreasing mission readiness.
The CNS/ATM system features components that expand the aircraft’s communications capability by increasing the number of usable radio frequencies, therefore reducing channel congestion. As part of the navigation upgrade, a system combining a Global Positioning System and an inertial navigation system has been integrated to provide accurate positioning and velocity, allowing flight crews to perform precise GPS landing approaches.
As part of the CNS/ATM system upgrade, both aircraft’s cockpit displays were upgraded from legacy analog to digital displays. Two new liquid crystal displays, designed by industry partner Rockwell Collins, were installed in the cockpit along with two enhanced processors capable of providing computing power to the new systems. Primary flight parameters including aircraft attitude, airspeed and altitude are now presented in a centralized location.
“The new system and displays are very impressive. This upgrade is going to be a huge enhancement to the Fleet,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Newton, CNS/ATM Greyhound project officer.
During their evaluation period, the Greyhound test team conducted shore-based carrier suitability testing to evaluate the systems’ handling of catapult shots and arrested landings at the shore-based TC-7 catapult and the MK-7 arresting gear facilities here. Then in late May, Greyhound 177 was flown out to sea to determine that the system could endure the rigors of the carrier’s flight deck.
Currently, the Greyhound test team is waiting for the Naval Air Systems Command to certify the system before Fleet implementation.
“We are very pleased with the accomplishments we have achieved thus far through our program's rewarding partnership with the NAVAIR Air Combat Electronics program, responsible for implementing the mandated CNS/ATM system, and the expanded ability that will be realized by a mission-critical carrier platform”, said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Durst, NAVAIR E-2C/C-2 integrated product team co-lead.
The CNS/ATM equipped Hawkeye will undergo testing similar to the Greyhound’s this winter at the shore-based catapult and arrestment site here in preparation for carrier qualifications in the spring of 2009.
Completion of CNS/ATM testing and subsequent certification by NAVAIR for the Hawkeye is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2009.
Delivery of CNS/ATM modified Greyhounds is scheduled for winter of 2009 to the “Providers” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30.
