US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India

SwordFish_13

SwordFish_13

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The US government has cleared yet another high technology system for India, the "futuristic" shipboard Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and battle management.

The clearance has been described by diplomatic sources as a fallout of the "successful" visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the signing of the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) of military equipment being supplied or sold by the US to India.

Like the Boeing P 8I Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft (MMA), of which the Indian Navy has already ordered eight aircraft, the Hawkeye E-2D is the very latest and is yet to be delivered to the US Navy.

India is the second country after the UAE to be cleared by the US State and Defense Departments for sale of this sophisticated system. The US Navy has sanctioned $432 million for trials of the aircraft, currently underway at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The Naval Systems Command (NAVAIR) based there provides engineering and testing support for new naval systems and weapons.

The Hawkeye E-2D has been under the US government's consideration for India for some time. In fact, in 2007, Pentagon sources in Washington had told this writer that the aircraft was being cleared, but apparently the previous version, Hawkeve E-2C, was eventually offered to which the Indian Navy said "No" in informal discussions.

The aircraft is being manufactured by Northrop Grumman, a leading US player in Aerospace, Warships, Missiles, Combat Radars and Electronic Warfare systems.

Northrop Grumman's programme Manager for International Business Development Tom C. Trudell told India Strategic magazine that the aircraft has "just been cleared by the US government for India" and that a presentation was made to the Indian Navy in August in New Delhi.

Indian Navy officers had witnessed the capabilities of the Hawkeye E-2C but told the US officials that as the equipment it would buy would be used for years, it must be the best and the latest with future capability insertion potential.

India Strategic quotes unnamed Indian officials as saying that the technology onboard the Hawkeye E-2D is "very tempting" and that although neither the Gorshkov aircraft carrier which India is buying from Russia nor India's first aircraft carrier indigenously being built would be able to accommodate this aircraft, India's future aircraft carriers could be a little bigger.

"By the time this aircraft comes, and by the time the Indian Navy gets used to it from initial shore-based operations, plans for two more aircraft carriers could be amended to house this system."

There have been no tenders of RfPs yet for the Hawkeye E-2D, but then companies from worldwide present their wares to various countries either by themselves and at their own cost, or make offerings in response to Request for Information (RfI) which are floated in routine by all the armed forces to know what is available in terms of newer generation of systems.

Future aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy would also have to be equipped with catapult launching systems, for which it is already looking around. India's second and third aircraft carriers should have this facility along with lifts and adequate open area for what is called free deck takeoff.

The Mig 29Ks that the Indian Navy is buying for Gorshkov, will be launched by a ski ramp.

Tip to tip, the Hawkeye is a bigger aircraft than the Mig 29.

Trudell said that although Northrop Grumman had been allowed to make presentations to the Indian Navy, its sale would have to be direct between the Indian and US government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. There are many systems on board, developed for US Navy, which only the US government can clear for transfer to other countries.

The US Navy has initially ordered five Hawkeye E-2Ds under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) programme, and the first aircraft should be delivered to the US Navy in 2011.

India can get the aircraft within three years of a contract being signed, said Trudell.
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Peace
-=SF_13=-
 
Thats ok the E2D is a E2C+ with a 8 blade prop on it, all it does in realirty is get better fuel efficiency, same radar, Avionics, Radios, not really much faster. I got a tour on one at last years air show, looks just like the one with 4 blades once you get inside.
 
wolfen said:
Thats ok the E2D is a E2C+ with a 8 blade prop on it, all it does in realirty is get better fuel efficiency, same radar, Avionics, Radios, not really much faster. I got a tour on one at last years air show, looks just like the one with 4 blades once you get inside.
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We need a Cool Picture here

e2dadvancedhawkeyenorth.jpg
 
Only thing new on that airframe from the E2C is the 8 blade prop, instead of a 4 blade prop and the power plant is a T56-A-247 instead of a T56-A-425, the engines are the same Compressor, Diffuser, and Turbine, the Combustion section has better crossover tubes, and the TD-amp is digital with no need for adjustments rather than the old analog ones we had that required periodic adjustments to keep the engines at lever power output. Other than that outside its the same airframe, wings, cooler on top, and the same old screamer on the stbd side under the wing, the same engine start procedures are used, its the same all the way down to the gravity fuel caps on top of the wings, they are about center between the Fuselage and the engine in the picture. From what I was told by the trons and one wires before I retired is that the inside is the same radar system as the C model with a few dozen enhancements that I'm not allowed to mention, like the distance, height, and depth the radar will now "see".

Oh BTW those tires are still Goodyear.
 
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All USN E-2C and select C-2A now have the 8-blade prop; it's not strictly a D-model enhancement. Another major update is in-flight refueling capability...most others have to do with the radar and C4I systems and should probably not be discussed in detail here.

Oh, and the D-model is shinier :p
 
c/Commander said:
All USN E-2C and select C-2A now have the 8-blade prop; it's not strictly a D-model enhancement. Another major update is in-flight refueling capability...most others have to do with the radar and C4I systems and should probably not be discussed in detail here.

Oh, and the D-model is shinier :p
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It is not hard to find a general description of upgrades to the electronics. But the new increased electronic capabilities will not be included in the aircraft sold to India. They will have to outfit it from older systems, their own gear or from other countries.

Basically India is buying an aircraft, the bells and whistles and extra seats beyond the pilots are for them to figure out.
 
c/Commander said:
All USN E-2C and select C-2A now have the 8-blade prop; it's not strictly a D-model enhancement. Another major update is in-flight refueling capability...most others have to do with the radar and C4I systems and should probably not be discussed in detail here.

Oh, and the D-model is shinier :p
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I haven't seen a C2 overhead here with 8 yet, don't know if its VRC-40 or another command with C-2's but somebody is still using a 4 blader.

And your right about the C4I, speaking about the innner workings of that stuff makes people go on really long vacations.
Thats another reason I was so glad to be a Mech, engines are basically all the same no matter what country your in.
 
wolfen said:
I haven't seen a C2 overhead here with 8 yet, don't know if its VRC-40 or another command with C-2's but somebody is still using a 4 blader.

And your right about the C4I, speaking about the innner workings of that stuff makes people go on really long vacations.
Thats another reason I was so glad to be a Mech, engines are basically all the same no matter what country your in.
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-40 has SLEPed at least a few of theirs, but probably not all at this point. VAW-120 probably still has 4-bladers; I doubt the RAG is high on the SLEP priority list...
 
gotta be able to fly the plane, only way 120 can get a bird off the ground is put it on jacks :)

Seriously though I just checked their site, they are using C-2 greyhounds, and the E2C+ so I doubt if they changed the engines and props yet. I'll know for sure in Oct ate this years Air show next door at Oceana.
All I know is if those new once leak as bad as the old ones I'm glad I'm retired.
 
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