Northrop Grumman started the production of the first of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft destined to the French Marine Nationale.
Northrop Grumman has announced the start of production of the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye for the French Navy at the company’s St. Augustine manufacturing facility. The milestone was marked with a ceremony in the manufacturing facility, which was attended by representatives from the French Navy, Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command and the Navy International Programs Office.
The St. Augustine plant, located in the north-east coast of Florida, has an active production line which is currently also producing the E-2D for the U.S. Navy and JASDF (Japan Air Self-Defense Force). Notably, according to Northrop Grumman, the E-2D has a 100% on-time delivery history.
Northrop Grumman is contracted to produce three E-2Ds Advanced Hawkeyes for the Marine Nationale. The first of these advanced AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in 2027.
We’ve started production on the first E-2D Hawkeye for the @MarineNationale, putting France on course to field the world’s premier airborne #C2 aircraft. https://t.co/E2Acr9YhzZ pic.twitter.com/6bdyZgsnR6
— Northrop Grumman (@NGCNews) December 10, 2024
The E-2D and France’s Legacy E-2C Hawkeye 2000
The E-2 Hawkeye is an all-weather, twin-turboprop, carrier-capable tactical AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft. The Hawkeye has been in service with various nations for over 60 years since its first flight on Oct. 21, 1960, and has been continuously upgraded to suit the needs of operators. The upgrades usually involve changes in the rotating radar, which is housed in a circular dish above the fuselage, and radio communications suites.
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the latest variant of the E-2 family of aircraft, and as the name suggests, is the fourth major version. It first flew in 2007, with deliveries started in 2010 and the Initial Operational Capability achieved in 2014.
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The E-2D’s many improvements over the legacy E-2C include a state-of-the-art radar and upgraded aircraft systems, making it far more capable and versatile than its predecessors. These upgrades will keep the decades-old airframe still relevant in the future’s network centric warfare, making the Hawkeye a “digital quarterback” for the Carrier Air Wing.
One of the physical differences between the two generations of E-2s includes the presence of a refuelling probe, which the E-2D can use to take on fuel with the hose and drogue system carried by other aircraft. In fact, the French Navy recently tested the NARANG (NAcelle de RAvitaillement Nouvelle Génération) buddy refuelling pod on its Rafale M fighters, with an Air Force A400M cargo aircraft acting as a surrogate for the future E-2D.
According to the manufacturer, the E-2D is “the world’s premier Airborne Command & Control aircraft, effective over land and sea” and has evolved “into a cutting-edge platform, capable of facing any threats anywhere in the world.” The E-2D is expected to provide expanded battlespace awareness, especially in the area of information operations delivering battle management, theater air and missile defense, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system.
The Marine Nationale is a long-time operator of the E-2 family of aircraft. It currently operates three E-2C Hawkeye 2000 variants, which entered service with the French Navy in 1998. The aircraft play a critical role, supporting the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group by providing critical command and control data. Two of the three E-2Cs that the French Navy possesses are always embarked on the carrier whenever the warship is underway.
France remains the only country, other than the United States, to operate its E-2C Hawkeye from an aircraft carrier. It is also the only Western country other than the U.S. to actively field a CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery) carrier, the Charles de Gaulle. This has been instrumental in enabling bilateral exercises between the two navies that involve the naval Command and Control aircraft.
As Janice Zilch, vice president of Northrop Grumman’s multi-domain command and control programs (which the E-2 falls under), put it, the company’s “partnership with France goes back over 25 years. We are proud to have supported the French Navy with the Hawkeye 2000, and we look forward to providing a generational leap in decision dominance with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.”
Current operators of the E-2, besides the U.S. Navy and the Marine Nationale, include the Egyptian Air Force, the JASDF, Mexican Navy, and Republic of China Air Force. The Israeli Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force also operated these aircraft in the past. Of these, only the JASDF and U.S. Navy operate the E-2D model.
