Digital Battlespace
US Navy confident in E-2D progress
Military and industry experts developing the US Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft have described the programme as 'healthy' as it performs to schedule and integrates modern technology.
With the aircraft set to have achieved IOC by 2014, manufacturer Northrop Grumman has delivered a total of seven aircraft to date, with two of these having been last year.
'We've increased the time that the decision-makers have to make decisions,' Peter Shepard, operations analyst/programme director, US Navy told the AEW and Battle Management conference in London on 17 January.
The platform is set to provide battle management C2 and '360 degree situational awareness to counter 360 degree threats', and Shepard believes that all realistic possibilities are covered.
'The reason we believe we can do that is because the programme is healthy.'
He described how the ‘kill chain’ time has decreased in recent years as capabilities have increased, and 'we want to be able to shorten that kill chain more so [with the E-2D]'.
Northrop Grumman is on contract for 75 aircraft, with 31 of these to be delivered by 2019, and operational evaluation will commence in 'the first quarter of 2012'.
The E-2D will take over from the E-2C as the US Navy's primary AEW aircraft programme of record as part of its plan to have a reliable asset of this type beyond 2050.
The rotating UHF ESA (ADS-18) has been developed by Northrop and L-3, and James Mulhall, director of AEW and BMC2 business development at the former, said the US Navy had the opportunity to reassess its UHF and chose not to.
The E-2D had to maintain all the functionality of the E-2C. However both representatives insisted that it is in no way the same aircraft, and takes the capability to a completely different level. 'The E2 platform has historically been a test bed for the US Navy,' Shepard commented.
The platform will be able to carry a crew of five, and four of the five crew can be weapon operators in the new configuration, which also contains a new glass cockpit designed for this 'tactical fourth operator'.
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