Monday, August 02, 2010
E-2D Advanced Hawkeye
Naval commanders were delighted to see the arrival of the U.S. Navy’s latest version of the E-2 surveillance plane. Dubbed the Advanced Hawkeye, the plane looks similar to other E-2s with twin propellers and a “dinner-plate-shaped radar dome” that sits atop the fuselage. But the E-2D comes equipped with updated radar, communications and computer systems that provide early warning alerts to naval forces.
The Navy plans to buy 75 Advanced Hawkeyes from Northrop Grumman at a cost of $180 million each over the next 11 years.
In theory, the plane, with two pilots and three officers at computers, can use 360-degree radar scans to determine if boats and planes within 350 miles belong to friend or foe.
Vice Admiral Allen Myers, commander of naval air forces, was so happy to see the Navy take possession of the E-2, he told the Virginian-Pilot: “It feels a little bit like Christmas in July.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Navy Welcomes Advanced Hawkeye, Newest Eye in the Sky (by Kate Wiltrout, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)
E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (Northrop Grumman)
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