On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, the American company Northrop Grumman announced the start of production for the first of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft for the French Navy (Marine Nationale). The delivery of all aircraft is scheduled for four years from now.
Image: Northrop Grumman
A symbolic ceremony marking the start of assembly was held at Northrop Grumman’s production facility in St. Augustine, Florida, with representatives from the French Navy, Northrop Grumman, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAI), and the Navy International Programs Office in attendance.
Janice Zilch, vice president, multi-domain command and control programs, Northrop Grumman:
“Our partnership with France goes back over 25 years. We are proud to have supported the French Navy with the Hawkeye 2000, and we look forward to providing a generational leap in decision dominance with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.”
The French Navy’s aviation branch (Aeronavale) currently operates three older E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, grouped within the Flottille 4F squadron. Typically, two of these aircraft are permanently stationed aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91). The squadron was established on July 2, 2000, at the Lann-Bihoué airbase near the town of Quéven, in the Morbihan department. France is the only country outside the United States to operate Hawkeyes from an aircraft carrier.
One of the E-2Cs was modified under the NP2000 program and equipped with eight-blade propellers. In April 2007, France received approval to purchase an additional aircraft, but the contract has yet to be finalized. In September 2019, then-French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly announced plans to purchase three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft in 2020 to replace the older E-2Cs. In January 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense offered France a used E-2C for approximately 10 million USD.
On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft as part of a package worth up to 2 billion USD. In February and March 2022, an American E-2D conducted trial takeoffs and landings on the French aircraft carrier.
Compared to the E-2C, the Advanced Hawkeye features new electronic systems, including a radar, avionics, color cockpit displays, and upgraded Allison/Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A turboprop engines. It also has wings with fuel tanks, which have increased the maximum flight time without aerial refueling from 5 to 8 hours.
Meanwhile, Japan has purchased an additional five E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, which will complement the 13 previously acquired. However, these are operated from land-based airfields. The U.S. Navy currently operates 51 E-2Ds (out of 76 ordered).
The manufacturer is actively marketing the E-2D, particularly in India, Egypt, Taiwan, and Poland. Poland, despite having introduced two used Saab 340B AEW-300 aircraft purchased from Sweden into service, is interested in acquiring brand-new aircraft in the long term (such as the competing Saab GlobalEye). Israel has opted not to purchase the E-2D. If no additional customers emerge, the E-2D production line in St. Augustine will be shut down after fulfilling the French and Japanese contracts.
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