E-2C Hawkeye

Sea Power, Jun 2001 by Burgess, Richard R

Following are status reports on three naval aircraft programs not discussed elsewhere in this issue.

As the delivery of the first production Hawkeye 2000 version of the E-2C radar early warning aircraft nears, the aircraft's builder, Northrop Grumman, is looking at a further development-now called Advanced Hawkeye-to meet the battlespace command-and-control requirements of the future.

No replacement airframe for the E2C is yet envisioned, so it seems likely that the E-2C will be the platform of choice for any further improvements in the Navy's airborne early warning capabilities. Northrop Grumman envisions a transformation from the current platform-centric E-2C to a network-centric E-2C with connectivity to theater air and missile defense, overland cruise-missile defense, and emerging littoral surveillance and targeting systems and platforms.

Among the improvements and upgrades envisioned for the Advanced Hawkeye will be several under the Radar Modernization Program, which includes installation of both a nextgeneration solid-state radar transmitter and a 360-degree electronically scanned array (ESA) radar-the antenna of which would be housed in the current E-2C radome (to avoid the need for flight recertification of a redesigned radome). Other improvements now planned include the installation of a modular communications system and upgraded cooling and electrical power systems. The Surveillance Infrared Search and Track (SIRST) capability, for which testing is planned this year, will enable the Advanced Hawkeye to participate in theater missile defense. The aircraft is expected to be fitted with a tactical cockpit with multifunction displays that will enable the cockpit crew to participate in tactical decisions.

An NC- 130H (formerly EC- 130V) Hercules assigned to the Naval Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., is being modified into a test-bed for the Advanced Hawkeye's mission systems. Northrop Grumman officials said that the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Advanced Hawkeye program will begin in fiscal year 2003, and that initial operational capability is scheduled to be achieved in 2010.

Systems involved in two interimdevelopment programs-the Mission Computer Upgrade (MCU) and the Advanced Control Indicator Set (ACIS)-have been installed on one Group II E-2C test-bed aircraft. Operational evaluation of the MCU was completed in April; a decision on fullrate production of the system is expected this month.

Of the Navy's ten operational E-2C squadrons, eight are equipped with the Group II version, one flies the Group II with the MCU/ACIS upgrade, and one flies the Group 0 version. The two Naval Reserve E-2C squadrons both fly the Group 0 version. The Group II version introduced the APS- 145 radar, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, and the Global Positioning System to the E-2C.

The Hawkeye 2000 features the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), satellite communications, the MCU and ACIS, an improved electronic support measures system, the Vapor Cycle Upgrade (an improvement to the aircraft's cooling system), and the T56-A-427 turboprop engine.

Delivery of the first production Hawkeye 2000-to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120 (VAW120), the E-2C fleet readiness squadron-is scheduled for October 2001. The first fleet squadron to fly the Hawkeye 2000 will reach initial operational capability in 2002; four of the Navy's 10 operational VAW squadrons are expected to be equipped with Hawkeye 2000s by 2006.

Continued multiyear production of the Hawkeye 2000 is being considered for funding in the fiscal year 2003 budget cycle in order to: (a) increase the number of CEC squadrons; (b) support transition to the Advanced Hawkeye configuration; and (c) sustain a viable force level of E-2Cs beyond 2015. The Navy hopes to field a force of approximately 75 Hawkeye 2000s by 2015.

Several of Northrop Grumman's international customers also are scheduled to receive new aircraft or upgrades to older aircraft. France plans to take delivery in 2003 of a Group II E-2C that will bring its complement up to three E-2Cs; a fourth aircraft is under consideration. Taiwan is scheduled to receive two aircraft in 2004 with the MCU/ACIS upgrade to augment the four E-2Cs it now has in service-the latter also are planned for the upgrade. Japan is slated to receive the first of 13 MCU/ACIS upgrade kits this year as well as other upgrades; the initial E-2C will be inducted for modification in Japan in 2002. The Egyptian Air Force's five E-2Cs will be inducted one per year into Northrop Grumman's facility in St. Augustine, Fla., for upgrade to the MCU/ACIS standard-the first was inducted last month. Singapore flies four E-2Cs but has not announced any upgrade plans. The Israeli Air Force has withdrawn its Hawkeyes from service.

In a related development, the NP2000 eight-bladed propeller-built by Hamilton Sundstrand-has been flight-tested on an E-2C for the first time. The NP2000-easier and less expensive to maintain than the current four-bladed steel-spar propellers-is now going through Phase I testing and will be put through carrier suitability testing in late summer 2001. Phase II testing will involve further performance and shipboard testing. The new propeller is scheduled to be retrofitted on all U.S. Navy E-2Cs and on all of the service's C-2A Greyhound carrier-- onboard-delivery aircraft, with fleet introduction scheduled for late 2002.