Article Posted on : - Aug 08, 2011

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.

BETHPAGE (BNS): Northrop Grumman has received a contract worth $761 million from the US Navy to manufacture and deliver five low-rate initial production (LRIP) E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.

Besides the five LRIP Lot 3 aircraft, Northrop, under the firm-fixed price contract, will also procure long lead materials for five LRIP E-2Ds under Lot 4.

The company has also received another $34 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of one additional E-2D Advanced Hawkeye LRIP, Lot 2, aircraft.

Northrop has so far delivered five E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes to the US Navy. An additional six aircraft are in various stages of manufacturing and pre-delivery flight test as the programme continues to move forward on the road to full-rate production, the company said.

The E-2D is an upgraded variant of the Hawkeye family of Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. It features newly designed electronically scanned radar, AN/APY-9, with a matching suite of sensors, avionics, processors, software and glass cockpit.