Flightdeck Friday: E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

This week we’re going to jump ahead a bit and look at the next generation Hawkeye a little more in depth.  To recap, the E-2 was first delivered to the Navy in 1964 and the current generation, epitomized by the Hawkeye 2000, has been flying since the delivery of the first E-2C in 1973. That model has seen incremental improvements in the intervening years – to the radar, ESM suite, computer/display, engines, radios and navigation aids.  The next model, the E-2D however, incorporated so many radical changes that a major platform upgrade was considered vice another incremental upgrade.

‘But wait’ you say ‘it looks just like the last models…’  Yes and in a way it is testimony to  the efficancy of the original design but also an acknowledgement of current fiscal realities.  The original design was built around the need for a large surveillance antenna on an airframe that had to be compact enough to fit on a Midway-class carrier.  Endurance (time on station) was a factor and given engine development at the time, turbo-props were more efficient than the turbojets in use and turbo fans were still years away.  Fast forward to the 1990’s when replacements were being considered (ATSA, AMSS) which would have featured a ground-up redesign to include turbofan useage and a fixed antenna, it quickly became cost prohibitive.  In light of that and mindful of the lessons learned from the impact of the cancelled A-12 program,  the decision was made to stay with the  basic design. Nevertheless, there are significant changes made to the basic srtucture of the aircraft besides those necessary for the advanced systems.

In previous models of the Hawkeye, 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.

But the real basis of change in the E-2D are the new systems and re-designed cockpit.

As noted in the Defense Industry Daily article listed below,

the most important improvement to the E-2D 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.

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.

Advances have been implemented 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.

The E-2D also 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. 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.

Milestones include first flight later this year, pilot production and flight test start in FY08 and LRIP in FY09 and IOC 2011.

All of this still comes at a price though.

The Pentagon’s periodic Selective Acquisition Report for April 2007, updated 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.  To put this in perspective, the Group 0 E-2C’s that made up YHS’ squadron when he was CO were an estimated $65M apiece.  Of course, that’s sort of like comparing a 1965 Mustang convertible with a 289 cid V-8 vs a 2007 Mustang GT ‘vert with a 4.6 V8

Primary Sources:

• Defense Industry Daily: E-2D Hawkeye – The Navy’s New AWACS
• Northrop Grumman

Next week: we look at measures that are taken to protect convoys when you don’t have aircraft carriers and surface-to-air missiles haven’t been invented, yet…