- Northrop Grumman has completed the critical design review of the Block II upgrade for E-2D aircraft
- Next, the prime will begin the integration and testing of its modernisation effort
- Delivery is planned for the end of the decade; the company will retrofit the existing fleet and new aircraft on the production line
Northrop Grumman has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for its extensive modification of US Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne command and control aircraft.
This extends to new aircraft on the production line, as well as an effort to retrofit the Navy’s 80 existing aircraft.
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Fundamentally, the E-2D serves as a central node in the US military’s battlespace data network, using its 360° AN/APY-9 radar to provide situational awareness for joint and coalition missions.
But the Block II upgrade will enhance platform capabilities, situational awareness, crew efficiency and allow for the integration of future technologies, stated vice-president and programme manager Janice Zilch.
Block II: breakdown
The modular open systems architecture will allow the user to insert any, non-proprietary future technologies when required.
This hardware upgrade also includes avionics improvements to flight and mission systems.
However the software portion – Delta System Software Configuration 6 – will introduce a new cockpit, increased computing power and robust cybersecurity.
The modernised cockpit and flight systems will reduce pilot workload and elevate situational awareness, allowing crews to focus on complex battlespace management.
Delivery
In the end, Northrop aim for the upgrade to overhaul the ageing mission system software and hardware that will sustain its relevance. This is particularly important since the Navy require a carrier-capable early warning aircraft suitable for the Pentagon’s operations in the Indo-Pacific.
Furthermore, recent air campaigns such as operations tracking drone swarms over the Middle East reaffirmed that the military faces an immediate surveillance gap.
Aging E-3 Sentry jets are set to retire while the E-7 Wedgetail programme, which almost collapsed last year, is still years from delivery.
Thus, the CDR approval follows a $1.19bn contract, agreed only days earlier, to build three E-2D Block II aircraft for the service.
However, the delivery timeline remains at risk. A Northrop executive revealed last year that the upgrade will be fielded within “a couple of years” while flight tests of the Block II-configured E-2D are scheduled for fiscal year 2029.
