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E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

Sep 12, 2018 04:48 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff

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FLA flight testing

September 12/18: More for Japan The State Department is determined to approve a possible FMS to Japan. The Japanese government is requesting the purchase of up to nine additional E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The potential deal has a value of up to $3.1 billion. The purchase would also include information and communication terminals, APY-9 radars and a variety of other systems. The carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, is designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. If the sale is approved Japan’s fleet of E-2Ds would increase to 23. Principal contractor will be Northrop Grumman.

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Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973. They fly from USN and French carriers, from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan; and in a drug interdiction role for the US Naval Reserve. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.

The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it’s a whole new aircraft.