![]() The designated E-2K aircraft entered service in April 2006.Įgypt upgraded its five E-2C Hawkeye aircraft to Hawkeye 2000 standard and has received one additional upgraded E-2C. Two Hawkeye 2000 aircraft were delivered to Taiwan in 20 respectively, joining a fleet of four E-2Cs. The upgrade work includes the integration of weapon systems, sensors, Mode 5/S identification friend or foe, five APX-122 IFF Mode 5/S interrogator systems, five APX-123 IFF Mode 5/S transponder systems and five ALQ-217 electronic support measure systems. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor in the upgrade programme. ![]() The French government requested an FMS with the US Government in October 2011 for the upgrade of four E-2C Hawkeye at a cost of $180m. In April 2007, France requested the foreign military sale (FMS) of an additional aircraft. One aircraft was delivered to the French Navy for operation on the Charles de Gaulle carrier, while two E-2Cs already delivered were upgraded to the 2000 standard. Northrop Grumman is also upgrading a number of USN aircraft to Hawkeye 2000 configuration. The Hawkeye 2000 made its first operational deployment in 2003 on USS Nimitz in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A total of 21 aircraft were ordered by the USN and the final production aircraft was delivered in September 2009. The first of the Hawkeye 2000 standard aircraft was delivered in October 2001. With the new engines, the E-2C can cruise on station for more than four hours up to 200 miles away from its base. The E-2C was originally fitted with two Allison T56-A-425 turboprop engines, but since the introduction of E-2C Group I variants, T56A-427 engines with 3,800kW of output power were fitted. The communications suite includes AN/ARC-158 UHF data link, AN/ARQ-34 HF datalink and a joint tactical information distribution system, which provides secure voice and data communications. The aircraft is equipped with the AN/ASN-50 heading and attitude reference system, AN/ARA-50 UHF automatic direction finder from Rockwell Collins, AN/ASW-25B automatic carrier landing system and a Honeywell AN/APN-171(V) radar altimeter. ![]() Navigation and communicationsĪ global positioning system and a Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton) AN/ASN-92 CAINS (carrier aircraft inertial navigation system) are the main components of the aircraft’s navigation suite. In August 2005, Northrop Grumman completed the E-2C mission computer replacement programme with the provision of faster, more powerful and additionally reliable computers. The Lockheed Martin AN/UYQ-70 advanced display system and computer peripherals provide operators with multicolour displays, map overlays, zoom facilities and auxiliary data displays. It is capable of detecting aircraft at ranges greater than 550km. The radar’s total radiation aperture control antenna reduces side lobes and is robust against electronic countermeasures. One radar sweep covers six million cubic miles. The Lockheed Martin AN/APS-145 radar can track more than 2,000 targets and control the interception of 40 hostile targets. The radome houses the AN/APA-171 antenna supplied by Randtron Systems, which rotates at 5rpm to 6rpm. The large, 24ft diameter, circular antenna radome above the rear fuselage gives the E-2C its distinctive profile. Initial carrier certification of the new propellers was carried out on USS John F Kennedy in November 2003. The new propellers result in reduced vibration and make less noise. Since May 2004, US Navy Hawkeye 2000 aircraft was fitted with two Hamilton Sundstrand NP2000 eight-bladed, digitally controlled propellers to replace mechanically controlled, four-bladed propellers. The fuselage is made of light metal and parts of the tailplane are of a composite structure to reduce radar signature. It is fitted with a nose-tow catapult attachment for accelerated carrier take-off, an A-frame arrester hook for engagement of the arresting gear and a tail bumper to withstand impact or scraping on the runway.įor storage in the hangar, the wings fold hydraulically to lie flat to the fuselage. The fuselage is designed for carrier operations. The aircraft is operated by a crew of five, with the pilot and co-pilot on the flight deck and the combat information centre officer, air control officer and radar operator stations located in the rear fuselage directly beneath the rotodome. ![]() Six E-2C Hawkeye aircraft are deployed by the US Naval Reserve for drug interdiction and homeland security operations. Three ex-Israeli Air Force E-2C aircraft were sold to the Mexican Navy, with the first two delivered in June 2004 and the third in November later that year.ĭeliveries totalled more than 180 for the USN and over 30 for other nations. As well as the US Navy (USN), the E-2C aircraft is in service with the navies of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
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