The US Navy (USN) has contracted Northrop Grumman to build and deliver a further 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
U.S. Navy on 10 April awarded Northrop Grumman a modification to definitize the previously awarded E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) Lot 7 advance acquisition contract to a multi-year fixed-price-incentive-firm contract, according to a Department of Defense statement.
This modification provides for the procurement of 24 full-rate production Lots 7-11 E-2D AHE aircraft.
With this latest award, 49 of a total of 75 aircraft are now under contract.
The USN says it will save $411 million, or 11%, by committing to five years of production, instead of buying aircraft one year at a time. The service says the first multiyear contract cut costs by $587 million, a 13.9% savings.
This is the second multiyear procurement contract awarded to Northrop Grumman for the E-2D. The USN awarded the first contract in 2014 for the production of 25 E-2D aircraft, which Congress later increased to 26 aircraft.
Work is expected to be completed in August 2026
The E-2D is the latest variant of the Hawkeye carrier-based AEW&C aircraft that has been in US naval service since the mid-1960s. The first E-2D was delivered to the navy in 2010, with initial operating capability for the type declared in 2014. The first operational sailing took place aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt in March 2015. Deliveries are set to be complete by 2025.
Some of the many new features of the Advanced Hawkeye are
- A completely new radar featuring both mechanical and electronic scanning capabilities
- Fully Integrated “All Glass” Tactical Cockpit
- Advanced Identification Friend or Foe System
- New Mission Computer and Tactical Workstations
- Electronic Support Measures Enhancements
- Modernized Communications and Data Link Suite
