NAVY * AIRCRAFT

Sea Power, Jan 2004

In February 2002, the S-3 began a weapons system upgrade that gave the aircraft the capability to launch both laser and infrared versions of the AGM-65 Maverick missile and to launch and control the AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER missile for both overland and anti-ship engagements. As of September 2003, 102 S-3Bs remained in service. The Navy and Lockheed continue their Service-Life Assessment Program (SLAP), to identify structural components to be repaired and/or replaced in a Service-Life Extension Program (SLEP). A Full-Scale Fatigue Test (FSFT) has recently been completed to determine the aircraft's actual fatigue life and areas of structural concern while evaluating SLEP kits. Meanwhile the S-3B continues to receive more modern and reliable upgrades to its communications (UHF, VHP, HF, SATCOM and Have Quick) and navigation suites (GPS/Ring Laser Gyros) as well as the advanced AYK-23 computer, significantly reducing operating costs and increasing combat capabilities.

As carrier air wings are equipped with two Super Hornet squadrons, the S-3 squadrons will be deactivated. VS-29 and VS-38 are scheduled for deactivation in April 2004. The remaining nine squadrons will be deactivated in succession by 2009.

E-2C HAWKEYE

BRIEFING: The all-weather E-2 Hawkeye carrier-based battle management/airborne command and control aircraft has served as the "eyes" of the U.S. Navy fleet for more than 40 years. The current production E-2C aircraft possesses the most advanced airborne command and control capabilities in the world. The Hawkeye provides simultaneous air and surface surveillance, strike and intercept control, search and rescue, and drug interdiction capabilities. Currently, five foreign militaries fly variants of the Hawkeye (Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Egypt, and France).

The current E-2C, which had its first production delivery in 1973, is equipped with the APS-145 radar, and capable of detecting targets anywhere within a 6-million-cubic-mile surveillance envelope while simultaneously monitoring maritime traffic. The U.S. Navy currently operates four configurations of the E-2C Group II aircraft, which can automatically and simultaneously track more than 2,000 targets in addition to controlling more than 20 airborne intercepts. There have been significant improvements in the aircraft's displays, communications, and navigation equipment. The Hawkeye has dramatically demonstrated its capabilities in numerous international contingency operations during the 1980s, in Desert Storm, in the NATO strikes against Yugoslavia, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. The E-2Cs are also a cornerstone of the U.S. Navy's drug-interdiction effort.

E-2 procurement was to have ended with the last of the six aircraft funded in FY 1992. However, the Navy determined that it would be more cost-effective to buy new aircraft than to extensively upgrade existing models. This decision resulted in the procurement of an additional 36 aircraft in FYs 1995-2003. The Navy's active inventory on june 30, 2003, included 75 Hawkeye aircraft, two of which are pilot trainers (TE-2C). The newly designed eight-bladed NP2000 propeller-currently being tested-is scheduled to be installed on the E-20 beginning in FY 2004. The current production version of the E-2C (known as Hawkeye 2000)-introduced in FY 1999-includes an improved COTS-based mission-computer upgrade, a new operator display (Advanced Control Indicator Set), upgraded cooling system, improved satellite communications, and the USG-3 Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system. The Navy is planning to continue the E-2 production line beyond 2003 with continued procurement of the E-2C Hawkeye 2000 configuration.