Northrop Grumman Hawkeye

"Since transitioning to NAS Pax River from our East Coast Aircraft Manufacturing and Flight Test Center in St. Augustine, Fla., earlier this year, both E-2D SDD aircraft have been performing well," said Jim Culmo, Northrop Grumman vice president of Airborne Early Warning and Battle Management Command and Control Programs. "This latest milestone brings us that much closer to delivering this state-of-the-art airborne early warning capability to the U.S. Navy and demonstrates the tireless commitment and dedication of the joint Advanced Hawkeye team to successfully meeting, or exceeding, all program milestones."

Prior to joining the carrier fleet, all naval aviation aircraft undergo carrier suitability testing. The bulk of this testing involves catapult and arrested landing structural tests, as well as the interoperability between the aircraft and the carrier.

In the cockpit for the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye catapult test were Northrop Grumman Flight Test Pilot Les Ryan, and Dan Carrigg, Wyle flight test pilot. "There is nothing more exhilarating than being 'shot' off the deck of a carrier at more than 100 miles per hour," said Ryan. "This phase of testing is critical to ensure that the aircraft can structurally handle the rigors of carrier operations. We completed multiple launches and, during each one, Delta One performed as expected -- with no noted anomalies."

Introduced in 2007, and built on the E-2's strong legacy of providing world-class airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capability for more than 45 years, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the sixth generation of the E-2. While its external appearance is similar to the E-2C, the internal systems of the Advanced Hawkeye have been completely redesigned and the capabilities vastly expanded. With its newly developed, more powerful AN/APY-9 Electronic Scan Array (ESA) radar, the E-2D will provide the warfighter with the expanded battlespace and situational awareness required for today's and tomorrow's missions.

Under a $408 million contract awarded in July 2007, Northrop Grumman is producing three E-2D pilot production aircraft which are on-track for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2010. Following the successful completion of a Milestone C review, a $432 million contract, awarded in June, kicked off Low-Rate Initial Production. The Navy's Program of Record is for 75 total E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.

Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is currently undergoing carrier compatibility tests at the U.S. Navy’s Patuxent River dummy-deck facility in Maryland before its first venture to sea. Initial carrier trials are to begin in the first half of next year, the exact schedule depending on carrier availability. Here at the Dubai Airshow an operational U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye 2000 from the U.S.S. Nimitz is on display in the static area.

The OEM is scheduled to build 75 E-2Ds to completely replace the Navy’s existing E-2C Hawkeye fleet. The last of 205 new-build E-2Cs was handed over at Northrop Grumman’s St. Augustine plant in September. Northrop has completed two developmental test E-2D models, which to date have racked up 1,250 flight hours between them. It is building three pilot production aircraft.

Flight tests have produced positive results so far, with the aircraft and system exceeding key performance parameters and being well below the threshold for software glitches. One of the developmental test aircraft is focusing on air vehicle tests. As the Delta-version is heavier and more powerful than the Charlie, requalification is required. The second test aircraft is primarily concerned with mission system testing. Its ability to track maneuvering targets has been particularly impressive.

Milestone C approval was passed in June, which led to the authorization for the construction of two low-rate, initial-production (LRIP) aircraft and the purchase of long-lead items. Three of the pilot-production/LRIP aircraft are to undergo the Navy’s operation/evaluation (opeval) process, scheduled for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. The remaining airplane is to be delivered in September 2010 to VAW-120, the Navy’s Hawkeye training squadron at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, to begin the service’s familiarization with the new variant.

In addition to the aircraft, Northrop Grumman is providing new mission, flight and maintenance training facilities. It has also just broken ground for the facility at Norfolk, and further systems are to be installed at Point Mugu, the California base that serves the Pacific Fleet squadrons. Initial operating capability is planned for 2014, by which time Northrop Grumman hopes to have ramped up to an annual eight-aircraft production rate, albeit with some additional capacity for potential export aircraft.

Even while the E-2D is being prepared for service, a development roadmap is being planned to coincide with programmed maintenance cycles. The first manifestation of this plan is to be the installation of in-flight refueling probes. Northrop Grumman is under contract to test an IFR probe on an E-2C in 2013, having already confirmed that refueling from behind a Super Hornet tanker poses no problems. The upper fuselage structure of the E-2D is the same as that of the E-2C, so once tests are complete the kit can be migrated to the Delta with no obvious issues.

Beyond the IFR probe, the Navy is looking to new mission computers and software common to the E-2C and D, and then further exploitation of the capabilities offered by increasingly wideband IP networks.

Advanced Hawkeye for Export
While initial development efforts are driven by U.S. Navy needs, the Advanced Hawkeye is being actively marketed around the world. The UAE is currently evaluating the type for its AEW requirement, and was the first nation to be granted export authorization. In the UAE, the Advanced Hawkeye is up against two contenders (the Saab 2000 and Boeing 737) that employ fixed electronically scanned antennas, whereas Hawkeye combines “e-scan” with a rotating array.

Jim Culmo, Northrop Grumman’s v-p for AEW and battle management C2 programs, cited the principal advantages of the Advanced Hawkeye’s configuration: “We provide complete 360-degree coverage, with no degradation across the whole sweep. Also, we operate in the UHF band, which has very little interference from the weather or atmosphere, and gives better detection of smaller targets.”

Culmo went on to assert that “the combination of electronic and mechanical scanning blends the strengths of both. Furthermore, the Hawkeye has no compromise in design. The radar is the baseline around which the aircraft is designed, rather than trying to integrate a radar system into a commercial aircraft.”

India is another potential customer and has also received export authorization, while Northrop Grumman is also pitching the E-2D to existing Hawkeye operators. Many of them operate the E-2 from land bases, and the company has done preliminary design work to add fuel capability to a nonfolding, outer-wing panel so mission endurance can be extended to eight hours.

While the Delta represents the new generation, there remains significant life in the E-2C, as evidenced by recent upgrades to the Egyptian and Taiwanese aircraft. When deliveries of the E-2D get under way this may release E-2Cs into the resale and upgrade market.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands | Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Jim Culmo, vice president of Airborne Early Warning & Battle Management Command and Control Programs, said today that the company's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Program is on track for initial operational test and evaluation in 2011. Culmo provided a program overview at the Airborne Early Warning and Battle Management 2009 Conference in Amsterdam.

"The E-2D System Development and Demonstration (SDD) Program is going very well," said Culmo. "We've successfully completed 94 percent of the SDD Program, and flight tests to date have produced excellent results. We have a strong Advanced Hawkeye Team, dedicated to ensuring that we continue to meet, or exceed, all major program milestones and performance criteria."

Culmo noted that the company is on-track to deliver three pilot production E-2Ds to the U.S. Navy in 2010 and that manufacturing of the first two Low-Rate Initial Production aircraft is also progressing well.

"We're exceedingly pleased with where we are in the flight test program," said U.S. Navy Capt. Shane Gahagan, Hawkeye Greyhound program manager. "The AN/APY-9 radar is performing very well and will bring to the fleet a significantly increased ability to operate in a highly cluttered environment while providing critical 360-degree coverage."

The E-2D was designed to provide the warfighter with the enhanced capabilities required to meet emerging threats and improved mission effectiveness. With its newly developed AN/APY-9 Electronic Scan Array (ESA) radar, Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system, Electronic Support Measures (ESM), and off-board sensors, in concert with surface combatants equipped with the Aegis combat system, the E-2D will have the capability to detect, track, and defeat cruise missile threats at extended ranges. It will also provide unparalleled maritime domain awareness including airspace control for manned and unmanned assets, monitoring of surface movements, civil support, and command and control of tactical forces.

The combined radar modes work together to provide continuous, 360-degree air and surface scanning capability, allowing flight operators to focus the radar on select areas of interest. "The AN/APY-9 can 'see' smaller targets and more of them at a greater range than currently fielded radar systems," Culmo said. He added that the E-2D's systems, including radar long-range detection, "are exceeding key performance specifications."

Une décennie de Hawkeye dans la marine

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C'est le 4 juillet que la flottille 4F, basée à Lann-Bihoué (Morbihan), fêtera le 10ème anniversaire de l'arrivée de l'E-2C Hawkeye dans la Marine nationale. Conçu par l'Américain Grumman, cet avion de guet aérien a été acheté à 3 exemplaires afin de doter le groupe aéronaval d'une capacité de veille lointaine. Les deux premiers ont été commandés en 1995 et livrés en 1999, avant d'être mis en service l'année suivante. Le troisième appareil, commandé en 2001, est arrivé en France en 2004. Doté d'un radar APS-145, d'une portée de 250 nautiques, le Hawkeye peut suivre 2000 pistes. Embarqué sur le porte-avions Charles de Gaulle et chargé de la sûreté du groupe aéronaval, il effectue des missions de contrôle aérien, ainsi que de coordination et de guidage au profit des avions de chasse dans le cadre d'opérations d'assaut contre des cibles navales ou terrestres.
Quand il est déployé, le Charles de Gaulle embarque deux Hawkeye. Afin de disposer de plus de souplesse en raison des contraintes de maintenance et d'entrainement des équipages, la Marine nationale souhaitait initialement acquérir un quatrième avion de ce type. Mais, faute de crédits, ce projet n'a pas vu le jour. On notera que seules les flottes américaine et française mettent en oeuvre l'E-2C à partir de porte-avions.

Premier catapultage pour l'E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

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Le nouvel avion de guet aérien embarqué américain a réalisé, le 1er février, son premier catapultage depuis un porte-avions. La manoeuvre a été réalisée en Atlantique sur l'USS Harry S. Truman. Développé par Northrop Grumman, l'E-2D Advanced Hawkeye est une version améliorée de l'E-2C Hawkeye actuellement en service. Pour mémoire, le programme a été lancé à la fin des années 90 et le premier prototype de l'avion a effectué son vol inaugural en 2007. En tout, l'US Navy prévoit de se doter de 75 Advanced Hawkeye. Plus performant que son prédécesseur et doté d'une avionique de dernière génération, l'appareil est, notamment, doté du nouveau radar APY-9. L'E-2D sera, ainsi, capable de surveiller une plus grande zone et de détecter de plus petits mobiles, tout en renforçant les capacités de l'avion dans son rôle de coordination des raids aériens.