Navy orders one E-2D radar and maritime patrol aircraft from Northrop Grumman in $148.3 million deal
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 2 March 2015. U.S. Navy aviation experts are ordering one advanced E-2D maritime patrol and air control aircraft from its manufacturer, Northrop Grumman Corp., under terms of a $148.3 million contract modification announced Friday.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems segment in Melbourne, Fla., to provide one E-2D full rate production advanced Hawkeye radar surveillance aircraft.
Advanced Hawkeye is the cornerstone of theater air and missile defense architecture in the littorals, overland, and open sea, Northrop Grumman officials say.
It has a two-generation leap in radar sensor capability and network-enabled capability to deliver actionable data to joint forces. The twin-engine carrier-based aircraft has 360-degree radar coverage for all-weather tracking and situational awareness; open-architecture commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based hardware and software; and multimission flexibility ranging from command and control through missile defense to border security.
The aircraft is designed to sweep ahead of strike groups, manage missions, and protect carrier battle groups with expanded battlespace awareness. The E-2D made its first carrier landing in February 2011.
Related: Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye enters full-rate production
Compared to its E-2C predecessor, the E-2D has a new radar with mechanical and electronic scanning; glass cockpit; advanced identification friend or foe system; new mission computer and tactical workstations; electronic support measures enhancements; and modernized communications and data link suite.
Partners to Northrop Grumman on the E-2D radar plane include BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, L3 Communications, and Rolls Royce.
On this contract modification Northrop Grumman will do the work in Melbourne and St. Augustine, Fla.; El Segundo and Menlo Park, Calif.; Rolling Meadows, Ill.; and other locations throughout the U.S., and should be finished by July 2018.
For more information contact Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems online at www.as.northropgrumman.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
