Latest Advanced Hawkeye reaches the USN
E-2D Hawkeye on the assembly line. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
51st E-2D aircraft is delivered to the USN by Northrop Grumman with more to come.
Northrop Grumman announced on 21 January that it has delivered the 51st production-standard E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to the USN.
This is the final E-2D delivered under the first multi-year procurement (MYP 1) contract for the aircraft.
The latest Advanced Hawkeye features the Delta System Software Configuration Build 3, which (according to Northrop Grumman) ‘provides an additional leap in operational effectiveness and technology’ with an aerial refuelling capability and a dwell-based tracker.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that the USN signed a $3.2 billion multi-year contract in 2019 to acquire 24 additional E-2D aircraft, with a production deadline of 2026.
Deliveries under this MYP 2 contract will begin in 2022, Northrop Grumman stated.
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