We have new 'Eyes' in the sky......E 2D Hawkeye

Good morning all,

Although the U.S. Navy has had the Hawkeye for quite some time, it is a technology that is at the forefront for the Navy! So, it has to be on the cutting edge, all the time, to be able to give accurate info and intel to our aircraft carriers and its aircraft.

So, without further delay, please follow the link to the new version of this carzy technological braniac airplane, the E 2D Hawkeye.......

www.irconnect.com...

Peace, Mondo

[edit on 1-5-2007 by Mondogiwa]

One thing that stood out to me in that article was the mention that with the new glass cockpits, the aircrew could act as "weapon systems operators." hmmmmm I wonder what type of weapon this airframe could deploy???

Off topic I worked around E-2C's onboard CV-64 for many years. Those blades always scared the crap out of me at night. We nicknamed that bird the "salad shooter." If you walked into one of those giant turbo props it would slice you and dice you like no other.

We had an F-14 lose it's brakes while taxing and crashed into the nose of an E-2C while the props were turning. The F-14 just happenned to puncture the LOX bottle and it was spilling on the greasy flight deck. I ran like mad while a bunch of morons ran up close to check it out. LOX plus oil = big boom but we were lucky and it never exploded. The whole time the F-14 aircrew is staring at one of those monstrous turbo props turning inches from their canopy.

I still find it amazing old birds like the E-2C can still be effective in today's military.

[edit on 1-5-2007 by on_yur_6]

One thing that stood out to me in that article was the mention that with the new glass cockpits, the aircrew could act as "weapon systems operators." hmmmmm I wonder what type of weapon this airframe could deploy???

I would imagine it would make a useful airborne control centre for a swarm of bomb laden UCAV's of the X-47/Taranis/Neuron type.

not bad for an aircraft that is 43 years old - it replaced the E-1 tracer in 1964 and made its combat debut in vietnam

so booyah to all the detractors of the Nimrod

Originally posted by on_yur_6
Off topic I worked around E-2C's onboard CV-64 for many years. Those blades always scared the crap out of me at night. We nicknamed that bird the "salad shooter." If you walked into one of those giant turbo props it would slice you and dice you like no other.
[edit on 1-5-2007 by on_yur_6]

6,

Yeah man, I worked on F 18's at Pt. Mugu and have been around quite a few E 2's as well. Those wicked blades are sort of like an ancient toture device to me. It always seemd like they were sort of looming and waiting for somebody to not be giving it respect and then whamo..you are a piece of confetti!!

Thanks for the reply, Peace...Mondo

Not only will the E-2D sport a new and more advanced avionics layout it will also feature an integrated communications suite, and did I mention a new radar? The APY-9 is a new ESA radar which will give the E-2D more range, fidelity, flexibility, processing power and scanning speed.

Newest Navy Aircraft Unveiled by Northrop Grumman

While the external appearance is similar to the E-2C, the systems and capabilities which the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye contains are completely redesigned. At the heart of the aircraft is the new radar, the APY-9, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Corporation. It can "see" smaller targets and more of them at greater ranges than the E-2C. The new rotodome, developed by L-3 Communications Randtron Antenna Systems, contains the critically important, continuous, 360-degree scanning capability, while adding an electronically scanned array. This system allows operators to focus the radar on selected areas of interest.

Hawkeye operators will have new radar system workstations, integrated satellite communications capabilities and other tools to better manage the battle space and provide warfighters with expanded situational awareness and information to complete their missions.

An additional new feature of the E-2D is the state-of-the-art glass cockpit that replaces prior-generation Hawkeye displays and avionics systems. One of the advantages is that pilots can also serve as weapon system operators.

Source

Again amazed how that old airframe has been around this long. Watching these old birds shimmy and vibrate like crazy while under power on the catapult is quite a sight. It looks like tail of the bird is going to shake off. They must do a lot while in depot maintenace to repair the airframe.

The idea as a command and control center for UCAV's is a brilliant idea. Maybe that new UCAV Navy helo I've seen in pictures???

Do you think that all UCAVS from each branch will have an accesible datalink for other services? If a Predator is in range of the upgraded E-2 do you think they can link up and see what the predator sees?

Originally posted by on_yur_6
Do you think that all UCAVS from each branch will have an accesible datalink for other services?

That's the whole idea behind Net-Centric Warfare and the Global Information Grid, all US systems (military and civilian) are to compatible with one another, and even with allied nations in joint cooperation. The Navy also has several notable UCAV programs, BAMS (Global Hawk, Mariner, Predator), N-UCAS (X-47B) and the RQ-8.