E-10A: She’s Dead, Jim
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Budgets, Events, IT - Software & Integration, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Radars, Raytheon, Specialty Aircraft, Transformation
(click to view full)
The future E-10A MC2 (Multi-sensor Command & Control) program was conceived as a fusion of Northrop Grumman’s advanced Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) Wide-Area Surveillance (WAS) radar and Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) mission suite into a modified passenger jet (likely a 767), creating a successor to both the E-3 AWACS air surveillance and E-8 JSTARS ground surveillance and SIGINT /communications relay planes. This multi-duty approach provides flexibility, but also invites potential shortages and overuse unless the system can be procured in sufficient numbers or supplemented with less expensive options (see “Brittle Swords: Low-Density, High-Demand Assets” [42k, PDF] for a deeper discussion).
Back in December 2006, Northrop Grumman received a $256 million contract covering design and analysis of the E-10A Technology Development Program (TDP) through Initial Design Review. The entire program could easily have been worth $10 billion. On February 23, 2007, however, the firm received notice from the U.S. Air Force that the E-10A MC2 Weapon System Integration (WSI) program was being formally ended. So, what now?
(click to view full)
The E-10A has been on thin ice for some time, and no funding was included for it in the FY 2008 budget request. Northrop Grumman says that planning has now begun to wind up the program, following the initial design review being held this week (February 12-16, 2007).
Initial Design Reviews (IDR) are most frequently conducted in programs that feature prototypes. The IDR is usually followed by a Final Design Review (FDR) of working prototype(s), before the program goes on to Milestone B approval. That milestone is the gateway to a full system design and development phase that aims to produce a final design, full working systems, manufacturing plans, performance testing, flight tests in the case of aircraft, etc. See “Specifying Initial Design Review (IDR) and Final Design Review (FDR) Criteria” for more background in this area.
The USAF’s shut-down of the program renders that somewhat moot. Subsequent closeout of any critical action items is scheduled to be complete by the end of May 2007.
(click to view full)
Still, all is not lost.
The MP-RTIP AESA radar is slated to equip future Block 40 version of the RQ-4B Global Hawks, and will also feature in NATO’s Airbus A319-based AGS battlefield surveillance program; it may also equip future E-8 J-STARS upgrades or successors. DID recently covered MP-RTIP testing on Rutan’s unusual-looking Proteus.
The MP-RTIP WAS radar may see deployment on future E-8 JSTARS upgrades, and a smaller version is in testing. It is scheduled for deployment on the future Block 40 version of the RQ-4B Global Hawk UAV, and on NATO’s Airbus A321-based AGS ground surveillance system.
(click to view full)
The BMC2 subsystem, which also received substantial investments, will be harder to transfer. Integrating it into E-8 or E-3 upgrades is likely to be challenging, as it was designed in the expectation of a new set of systems and many of them won’t be available unless the older aircraft receive a truly major overhaul encompassing many of their expensive electronics, or BMC2 is redesigned to accommodate them. Over the next 30 days, the firm will be exploring options.
Boeing and Raytheon were Northrop Grumman’s partners on the E-10A WSI contract, which was managed by Air Force Material Command’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA. Flight International | Defense Daily | New York Times.
