Northrop Grumman,
Bethpage NY: Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $408 million pilot production contract to produce the next three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and battle management command and control (AEW/BMC2) aircraft for the U.S. Navy from 2007 to 2010. The first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye development aircraft, known as Delta One, is slated to fly in late summer, with the second SD & D aircraft scheduled for its first flight later in 2007. This contract is a follow-on to the $2 billion System Development and Demonstration Contract (SD & D) awarded in 2003.
“Our goal has always been to design, build and deliver a product that brings the Navy one step closer to expanding its arsenal of 21st century network-centric warfare and battle management capabilities,” said Tom Vice, vice president of Airborne Early Warning and Battle Management Command and Control Programs – Navy, for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector.
“We've done just that. The E-2D is a revolutionary upgrade that gives the warfighter expanded battlespace awareness, especially in the area of information operations. The Advanced Hawkeye concentrates battle management, theater air missile defense and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in one aircraft.” Vice said the Navy plans to procure at least 75 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, which all will be manufactured at Northrop Grumman's East Coast Manufacturing Center in St. Augustine, Fla.
“Our Navy program has an exceptional industry partner — Northrop Grumman and the companies that comprise Team Hawkeye,” said Capt. Randy Mahr, NAVAIR's Advanced Hawkeye program manager. The Advanced Hawkeyes will be delivered in 2010 and will support the program's scheduled operational evaluation of the aircraft. “We will be ready in 2011 to be the backbone of the network-centric Navy, providing what America needs well in to the middle of the century,” Mahr said.
While the external appearance of the E-2D is similar to the E-2C, the systems are completely redesigned and the capabilities are vastly expanded. At the heart of the aircraft is the new radar, the APY-9, which can “see” smaller targets and more of them at a greater range. The new rotodome contains an electronically scanned array that provides critically important, continuous, 360-degree scanning. This capability allows flight operators to focus the radar on select areas of interest.
Inside the aircraft, Advanced Hawkeye operators will have new radar system workstations, integrated satellite communications capabilities and other cutting-edge tools to better manage the battlespace. An additional new feature of the E-2D is the state-of-the-art glass cockpit that replaces prior-generation Hawkeye displays and avionics systems. One of the advantages is that one of the two pilots can serve as an additional operator when necessary.
“These advances provide warfighters with expanded situational awareness to compress the time between initial awareness and active engagement,” Vice added. “That is a huge technological accomplishment that was only possible because we have a remarkable USN/industry team. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye will provide Joint U.S. forces and coalition partners' airborne battle management command and control from the sea, in both over-land and over-water environments.”
