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E-2D
The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman are exploring a future radar mission upgrade for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye as the current Block II modernization effort prepares to ramp up.
The Block II package, previously known as the Delta System Software Configuration, replaces the aircraft’s current navigation, controls, display systems and tactical mission computer with a modernized cockpit and theater combat identification, the Navy says.
Janice Zilch, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and integrated product team of multi-domain command and control, tells Aviation Week that Block II is headed for critical design review (CDR) in May. This is ahead of a test readiness review in 2027 and flight test in 2028. By 2032, Northrop Grumman is planning to double the number of Block II-capable aircraft, she says.
The fiscal 2026 budget included three E-2Ds, and Northrop Grumman is looking to do a production cut-in to deliver in 2030. The Navy plans to have its entire fleet at the Block II standard.
Longer-term, Northrop Grumman has a contract with the Office of Naval Research to see “what we can do from a radar perspective,” she says.
“We are looking at what would be the best capability going forward to do that radar mission upgrade,” Zilch says.
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