US Navy Redesignates E-2 Hawkeye Squadrons

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New US Navy Hawkeye squadron designation

The US Navy started to redesignate its E-2 Hawkeye squadrons to more accurately reflect the aircraft’s expanded capabilities and missions.

The service has changed the name from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) to Airborne Command and Control Squadron, as of 1 January 2020. The well-known VAW-abbrivation continues.

The E-2A was the first carrier-based plane for the US Navy that was built from scratch as an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and command and control airplane. The E-2A replaced the Grumman E-1 Tracer (a modified C-1 Tracker) in the AEW role. The first E-2As were deployed from 1965 onwards and participated in the Vietnam War. 59 E-2As were built. Although the first version was not very succesful due to constant problems with its onboard computers and airframe corrosion, the next variants became very succesful aircraft. The improved E-2B was introduced, but this version was only an interim solution as the E-2C was already ordered by the US Navy when the first E-2B entered service. 49 E-2As were modified to E-2B (so no new E-2Bs were built), while four other E-2As were converted to TE-2B trainer. Another two E-2As served as prototype for the E-2C. The E-2C was introduced in 1973, and these were all new-built aircraft, at least 180 were manufactuered by Grumman.

From that moment, the crew and its aircraft became specialists in detecting and tracking airborne targets and providing radio voice commands and data link tracks to enable fighters to intercept enemy aircraft or cruise missiles. Through the following years, the Charlie was constantly improved with new sensors, as well as an improved strike control system, systems for land force support, rescue coordination communication suites, and it was equipped for drug-interdiction operations and other tasks that went beyond the once sole early warning mission.

From 1972 onwards, the E-2C Group 0 batch was built (55 aircraft). From 1988, a new batch, the Group I, was constructed (eighteen new-built aircraft). In the late eightees, a production batch started with Group II aircraft of which fifty were delivered (including twelve upgrades of the Group I aircraft). In the meantime, all Group 0 aircraft were replaced in first-line service by Group II aircraft. In 1997, the US Navy decided for a for a total of 75 Group II aircraft.

A few years earlier, manufacturer Grumman merged with Northrop and started the Group II Plus, also known as the Group II / NAV upgrade (NAVUP). In the late ninetees, early zeros a new variant appeared, referred as Group II MCU/ACIS (with upgrades to the mission computer and workstations). These were produced in small numbers due to production of the Hawkeye 2000 soon after its introduction. All Group II aircraft had their 1960s vintage computer processors replaced by a modern GrIIM RePr (Group II Mission Computer Replacement Program, pronounced "grim reaper"). The final NAVUP aircraft was retired from the active fleet on 19 November 2019, while the other Group IIs continued service.

Another upgrade to the Group II was the Hawkeye 2000, that became more or less a standard, with a glass cockpit and many other technical improvements. In 2004, the US Navy decided to replace all propeller systems of the fleet, and the new eight-bladed propeller system named NP2000 was introduced, the E-2Cs were designated E-2C NP2000. From 2015, a brand-new Hawkeye was fielded, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. This bird received an entirely new avionics suite including the new radar, radio suite, mission computer, integrated satellite communications, flight management system, improved engines, a new glass cockpit and from 2019 onwards an aerial refueling probe was installed too. Probably, 68 are ordered of which some 42 are already delivered.

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