The US Navy intends to build roughly a dozen more E-2D Advanced Hawkeye surveillance aircraft—a critical “eye in the sky” for its carrier force.

Northrop Grumman is one of two aerospace giants, along with Boeing, now competing for the United States Navy’s F/A-XX contract to develop and build a next-generation carrier-based fighter jet. It remains unclear when the sea service will finally name a contract winner, but this month, Northrop Grumman was awarded a nearly $1.2 billion contract from the US Naval Air Systems Command for three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Block II aircraft.

Under the “not-to-exceed $1,196,000,000 cost, no fee undefinitized contract,” the company’s Melbourne, Florida-based subsidiary Aeronautics Systems will produce the updated carrier-based airborne early warning and command-and-control system, with the work to be completed primarily at facilities in Melbourne and St. Augustine, Florida, but also spread out across several states. Work on the new aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2031.

The E2D Advanced Hawkeye is employed to track potential threats, direct friendly aircraft, and extend radar and coordinate operations between naval, air, and other joint forces. The Block II variant features upgraded hardware and software, including the AN/APY-9 radar and Delta System Software Configuration 6 (DSSC 6), which replaced legacy systems with a modular open systems architecture (MOSA).

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye’s Specifications

• Year Introduced: 2014 (E-2D Advanced Hawkeye IOC; E-2 family first flown/service in 1964)
• Number Built: 300+, all variants; ≈75 E-2Ds
• Length: 57 ft (17.4 m)
• Wingspan: 80 ft (24.4 m); foldable wings for carrier storage
• Weight: ~24,000 lb (10,900 kg) empty; Max Takeoff Weight (MTOW): ≈56,000 lb (≈25,400 kg)
• Engines: Two Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A turboprops (~5,100 shp each)
• Top Speed: ≈350 knots (≈403 mph, ≈648 km/h) max; cruise ≈300 knots (≈345 mph, ≈556 km/h)
• Range: Ferry/long-range ~1,500 nmi (≈1,726 mi, ≈2,778 km); on-station endurance measured in many hours (mission-dependent)
• Service Ceiling: ≈34,000 ft (≈10,363 m)
• Loadout: No weapons carriage as primary role; mission systems include large dorsal rotodome (~24-ft radome) housing AN/APY-9 radar, electronic surveillance, CEC/Link-16 datalinks, and multiple mission consoles for battle-management and sensor fusion
• Aircrew: Typically 5 (2 pilots + 3 mission systems/operators)

Why Is the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye So Important to the Navy?

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the newest version of the twin-turboprop, all-weather, carrier-capable, tactical early warning (AWE) aircraft that was first developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The E-2D variant first entered service in 2007.

Although it lacks the glamor of the US Navy’s fighters, it is an essential asset in the service’s carrier strike groups. It is also not the easiest aircraft to fly.

“Unlike an F/A-18, which can punch full afterburners to accelerate out of dangerous situations quickly, the E-2D has no such luxury,” Harrison Kass explained for The National Interest in October 2025. “Pilots instead are forced to make high-speed approaches with terrible visibility. Accordingly, the margin for error is razor thin.”

Kass noted that every Hawkeye takeoff could be hazardous, as the aircraft’s heavy radar dome and five-person crew added extra weight to the airframe during catapult launches. “If an engine falters before the pilot reaches 140 knots, there is no recovery.”

The workload is also intense, and the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye effectively functions as the unsung hero of carrier operations. It serves as an airborne command center and remains the eye-in-the-sky, extending the fleet’s radar range beyond the horizon. Operational E-2D units are active across eight of the US Navy’s nine deployable airborne command and control squadrons.

In April, Northrop Grumman delivered the 70th E-2D to the US Navy. The total program of record calls for 80 to 86, to ensure that the US Navy’s flying eye can’t be blinded. 

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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