E-2 Hawkeye

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft. Designed by Grumman for the United States Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s to replace the piston-engined E-1 Tracer, it entered service in January 1964. It was the first aircraft designed from the outset for the AEW role rather than adapted from an existing airframe, and has been in continuous production since 1960, the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft. Nicknamed "Super Fudd" and later "Hummer", it also served as the basis for the C-2 Greyhound.

Development

The Navy issued a requirement in 1956 for an AEW aircraft whose data could feed the Naval Tactical Data System; Grumman's design was selected in March 1957. Designated W2F-1 and later E-2A, it had to meet height, weight and length limits for operation from modified Essex-class carriers, though it never deployed aboard them. An aerodynamic prototype flew on 21 October 1960 and the first fully equipped aircraft on 19 April 1961. Production was cancelled in 1965 after 59 airframes owing to avionics cooling failures and reliability problems that at one point grounded the fleet. Forty-nine were rebuilt as E-2Bs with a Litton L-304 digital computer. A reliability programme begun in April 1968 led to the E-2C; the first converted prototype flew on 20 January 1971 and the first production aircraft on 23 September 1972, entering service in 1973. Group 0 (55 aircraft, APS-120/APS-125 radar) was followed by 18 Group I aircraft with APS-139 radar and T56-A-427 engines, then 50 Group II aircraft with APS-145 radar from June 1992. Later upgrades included Group II Plus (Nav Upgrade), the GrIIM RePr computer replacement and Hawkeye 2000 with CEC datalink. The eight-bladed NP2000 propeller was introduced in 2004. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye first flew in August 2007, with deliveries from 2010 and full-rate production approved in February 2013; 50 were on contract by June 2014 against a 75-aircraft requirement.

Design

The E-2 is a high-wing aircraft with two Allison T56 turboprops, retractable tricycle landing gear, tailhook and catapult-capable nose gear. A 24-foot rotodome above the fuselage houses the primary radar and IFF antennas; the Sto-Wing folding wing system prevents contact with it. The crew of five comprises pilot, copilot, combat information center officer, air control officer and radar operator. The E-2D introduced the AN/APY-9 UHF-band AESA radar, glass cockpit, T56-A-427A engines, satellite communications and, from December 2016, aerial refuelling, extending time on station to five hours. Hawkeye 2000 can track over 2,000 targets and detect 20,000 at ranges beyond 400 miles.

Operational History

The E-2A first deployed aboard USS Kitty Hawk in 1965 and saw combat in Vietnam. In August 1981 a VAW-124 Hawkeye directed VF-41 F-14s in the Gulf of Sidra shootdown of two Libyan Su-22s, and VAW-123 aircraft supported Operation El Dorado Canyon in 1986. E-2Cs directed the F/A-18 shootdown of two Iraqi MiG-21s during Desert Storm and flew overland sorties in Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Israel received four in 1981 and used them over the Bekaa Valley in 1982. Other customers include Egypt, France (Flottille 4F aboard Charles de Gaulle), Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan.

Variants

• E-2A: Initial production version, originally W2F-1; 59 built.
• E-2B: E-2A with Litton L-304 computer and enlarged outer fins; 52 converted.
• E-2C: New electronics and surveillance radar, built in Group 0, Group I, Group II and Hawkeye 2000 standards; 63 built.
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: APY-9 AESA radar, glass cockpit, T56-A-427A engines and aerial refuelling.
• E-2T/E-2K: Taiwanese aircraft built on retired E-2B airframes with APS-145 radar, later upgraded to Hawkeye 2000 standard.