E-2C Hawkeye

The E-2C Hawkeye is the mainstay AWACS platform for the U.S. Navy and air forces around the world. Designed and built by Northrop Grumman, it has been in U.S. Navy service since 1973. It has the ability to monitor up to 6 million cubic miles of airspace and 150,000 square miles of ocean surface for aircraft, missiles, ships, or other fixed targets. Its operators can track hundreds of targets in a radius extending up to 200 miles. Extremely well-equipped with the ability to be fed raw radar data as well as computer-generated data, other common sensors in U.S. Navy block 2 aircraft include the Navy Tactical Data System (NTDS), the Fighter Control Link 4A, and the JTDIS data link in use by both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. The E-2 was responsible for the identification and tracking for Libyan MiG-23's intercepted by F-14A Tomcats in 1986 and provided targeting information for interceptors patrolling the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm. In 1998 the “Hawkeye 2000” upgrade achieved its first flight and is beginning to equip air forces worldwide. The Hawkeye 2000 upgrade incorporates advanced mission computers, indicator set workstations, and Cooperative Engagement Capability. A proposed upgrade variant known as the E-2D “Advanced Hawkeye” is making the rounds as a proposal for the U.S. Navy’s “Joint Vision 2020” project, and $48 billion has been set aside to initiate production of the new aircraft for the U.S. Navy.