E-2D Advanced Hawkeye / The Navy's New AWACS

Northrop Grumman's E-2C Hawkeye began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973, and serves as the US Navy and French Navy's carrier-capable "mini-AWACS" aircraft. Its primary role is advance warning of incoming aerial threats; ship-based radars are far larger and more powerful, but cannot scan below the angle of the horizon. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes also fly from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Taiwan; and in the US Naval Reserve in a drug interdiction role. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.

The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it's a whole new aircraft…

From E-2 Hawkeye to the E-2D

The Hawkeye is based on the same airframe as the USA's C-2 Greyhound cargo aircraft, with the obvious addition of the 24 foot diameter, frisbee-shaped, rotating radome on its back. It carries a crew of 5 – pilot, copilot, and 3 mission system operators.

The first E-2A was delivered in 1964, the first E-2B upgrade in 1969, and as noted above, the first true "second generation" E-2C Hawkeye was delivered in 1973. In 1992, an E-2C Block II update program added the AN/APS-145 and L-304 radar systems; improved Rolls Royce T56-A-427 engines; JTIDS, Link-4A, -11, and 16 datalinks; GPS capability; and various avionics, and electronics upgrades. It finished in 2001.

Technology moves quickly, however, and technology that was cutting edge in 1992 isn't so cutting edge any more. A subsequent upgrade called the Hawkeye 2000 (HE2K) added the 8-bladed NP2000 propeller, replaced the old computer platform that was inhibiting further modernization with commercial-standard computer component upgrades; and added associated electronics, power, and maintainability modifications, including integrated satellite communications. All of these upgrades pale, however, in comparison to the effectiveness boost offered by adding Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC). With CEC, the Hawkeye can see everything the ships in its task group can see – and vice-versa, turning the aircraft into a force multiplier to all ships in the group and even enabling ballistic missile defense roles.
Hawkeye 2000 aircraft were first deployed in 2003 aboard USS Nimitz, and additional customers have included Egypt, France, Japan, Taiwan & the UAE.

The next-generation, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is planned as a major platform upgrade, rather than the incremental improvements of Hawkeye 2000. Cruise missiles are becoming stealthier, smaller targets are becoming important, and surveillance in coastal areas and overland is as important to the Navy as aerial surveillance. The E-2D program began in 2001, saw the major System Design & Development contract issued in 2003, and featured rollout of the first modified aircraft in April 2007. Its first flight is scheduled for summer 2007, and initial operational capability is scheduled for 2011. A total of 75 aircraft are planned as the cornerstone of US naval surveillance for the next 25 years.

The most important improvement to the E-2D AHE is the new APY-9 radar, which can detect and track smaller (or stealthier) targets, in larger numbers, and at greater ranges. The electronically scanned array offers improved in-service time and maintenance, allows simultaneous air/ground scans and extremely fast focusing on multiple targets, and features lower 'sidelobe' leakage as well as other improvements. Improved clutter & interference cancellation offers significant improvement in tracking small land and sea targets, as well as better performance against electronic jamming. The radar has been described as a 2-generation improvement over previous Hawkeye aircraft.

The E-2D actually improves most of the aircraft's internal equipment. ESM and IFF systems offer improved classification of radar contacts at longer ranges. The communications suite is modernized to include dual-band SATCOM, as well as improved datalinks. Engines are improved. In-flight refueling capability for longer missions on-station is part of the basic aircraft, not an option. Etc.

Like any electronic system, however, the E-2D needs an improved interface in order to take advantage of its full capabilities. New mission computers and tactical workstations use commercial off-the-shelf components, providing more power to integrate incoming information into a coherent picture, and easier future upgrades. More to the point, the onscreen interface features dramatic improvements, including larger displays and advances in the front seats that allow the pilot or copilot to participate as 4th mission system operator once the aircraft is on station. The cockpit itself has also received attention, and has been fully modernized with an "all glass" (i.e. screens, not dials) system and a number of enhancements.

The end result is an aircraft that looks a lot like the E-2C Hawkeye 2000, but can scan larger areas for smaller targets; offers a new dimension in coverage by combining strong aerial, maritime, coastal, and land surveillance; can function as an integral part of missile defense efforts against both cruise and ballistic missiles; and allows operators to make better use of its capabilities.

Advances have also taken place on the manufacturing floor. When Northrop Grumman was awarded the system development and demonstration contract for the Advanced Hawkeye in 2003, the company chose to change its manufacturing approach. Engineers created a virtual design environment that integrated the engineering team in Bethpage, NY with the manufacturing team in St. Augustine, FL. They then began to re-engineer the structure, beginning with single detail parts.

In previous Hawkeye platforms, individual sheet-metal components were the basis for all structural assemblies. For the E-2D, a number of substructures were re-designed as machined components, eliminating significant numbers of detail parts, improving the production process, and leaving fewer potential points of failure in the finished aircraft.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: Program

The Pentagon's April 2007 SAR placed the E-2D's entire program cost, including R&D, production of all aircraft, internal equipment, and equipment required for initial fielding, at $17.487 billion. That works out to $233.1 million per aircraft including amotized costs – in part because the number bought is only 75, and in part because AWACS aircraft of any type are expensive assets due to all of the advanced radars, electronics et. al. crammed into them.

The US military groups E-2C Hawkeye 2000 and E-2D funds together in its documentation. FY 2005 funding was $807.4M ($560.7M RDT&E, $246.7M production, 2 aircraft); FY 2006 funding was $891.5M ($619M RDT&E, $272.5M production, 2 aircraft); and FY 2007 spending was $717.7M ($505.8M RDT&E, $211.9M production, 2 aircraft in last year of E-2C multi-year procurement). The FY 2008 request is for $900M; it includes $831.7M RDT&E, and $68.3M for long lead items for the Low Rate Initial Production aircraft in Advance Procurement for the E-2D.

Key contractors for the E-2D program include:

• Northrop Grumman (Prime Contractor; Radar transmitter via NG Electronic Systems in Baltimore, MD; new tactical cockpit from NG Navigation Systems in Woodland Hills, CA)
• BAE Systems in Greenlawn, NY (identification friend-or-foe system)
• L-3 Communications Randtron Antenna Systems in Menlo Park, CA (UHF electronically-scanned array antenna)
• Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems in Syracuse, NY (principal APY-9 radar-system supplier, teamed with NG ES & BAE)
• Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems in El Segundo, CA (radar receiver)
• Rolls Royce (T56-A-427A turboprop engines featuring integrated Propulsion System Control, Monitoring and Maintenance System, an emergency power rating to increase single-engine rate of climb, and a new engine reduction gearbox)
• United Technologies' subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand (NP2000 8-bladed propellers)

Contracts & Key Events
Unless otherwise specified, The Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, MD issued all contracts to Northrop
Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, NY.

July 9/07: A $408 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-03-C-0057) for 3 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye pilot production aircraft. Work will be performed in Bethpage, NY (26.5%); at various locations across the United States (25.88%); Syracuse, NY (23.57%); St. Augustine, FL (18.63%); and Menlo Park, CA (5.42%) and is expected to be complete in August 2010.
April 30/07: The first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye makes its first public appearance at a rollout ceremony in St. Augustine, FL. NGC release.

April 9/07: The Pentagon's periodic Selective Acquisition Report updates us re: cost growth in the E-2D program. Full weapons program costs increased from $15,721.5 million to $17,487.0 million (+$1.76 billion, 11.2%), due primarily to higher Mission Electronics, general procurement, and mission systems pricing ($653.7 million), buying fewer aircraft per year over a longer period from FY 2009-2020 (+$374.8 million), and additional pilot production funding (+$169.0 million). There were also increases for the addition of the automatic identification system, dual transit satellite communication, and in-flight refueling requirements (+$137.1 million), a revised estimate to reflect new pricing for the system development and demonstration contract (+$234.3 million), and increases in initial spares, peculiar support equipment and training, and other production support costs (+$159.1 million).
At this estimate, each E-2D aircraft will cost $233.1 million when all R&D, pilot production, equipment, and initial support funds are factored in and amortized.

Nov 13-15/06: Northrop Grumman Corporation hosts the 5th annual International Hawkeye Users Conference at its manufacturing center in St. Augustine, FL. Every year, the company brings together members of the air forces and navies of Egypt, France, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States to share lessons-learned and to learn about new capabilities and improvements planned for the world's E-2 fleet. The NGC release adds that "together, these nations operate over 100 E-2C Hawkeyes…."

July 17/06: Northrop Grumman announces that it has mated the major sub-assemblies of the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye test aircraft into a single fuselage structure at its St. Augustine, FL manufacturing center. NGC release.
Nov 17/05: Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy announce a successful E-2D critical design review (CDR). All the team's basic designs, including the new radar, mission computer and workstations had been improved and vetted, and Northrop Grumman can now complete production of the 2 test aircraft to fulfill the SDD phase requirements. NGC release.

July 20/05: A $22.6 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-03-C-0057) to design, develop, fabricate, assemble, integrate, furnish, manage, test and evaluate an On-Board Oxygen Generating System for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (93.8%) and Davenport, Iowa, (6.2%), and is expected to be completed in December 2012.

March 29/04: A $63.7 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-03-C-0057) exercises an option for a Propulsion System Control Monitoring and Maintenance System (PSCMMS) for the E-2 Advanced Hawkeye (AHE). Specifically, the contractor will design, develop, fabricate, assemble, integrate, furnish, manage, test, evaluate and support a PSCMMS as part of the E-2 AHE System Development and Demonstration (SD&D) effort.
Work will be performed in Indianapolis, IN (52.61%); Bethpage, N.Y. (41.08%); Windsor Locks, CT (3.92%); and Irvine, CA (2.39%), and is expected to be completed in May 2011.

Aug 11/03: A $1.932 billion cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the E-2 Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, which will consist of modifying two E-2 Hawkeye 2000 aircraft to the E-2 AHE configuration. The contractor will design, develop, fabricate, assemble, integrate, furnish, manage, test, evaluate and support the software, hardware and engineering associated with the SDD phase.
Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (55.39%); at various locations across the United States (20.75%); Syracuse, N.Y. (13.91%); Baltimore, MD (4.98%); Menlo Park, CA (3.22%); and El Segundo, CA (1.75%), and is expected to be complete in December 2012. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-03-C-0057).

Source: Defence Industry Daily (Defense News)

Posted: 12-Jul-2007

Photo: E-2D Advanced Hawkeye [Defence Industry Daily photo]



(15.07.2007)