Work Starts On New AEW Plane For French Navy

Northrop Grumman has begun construction on the first of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft set to be operated by the French Navy.

Work on the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) plane began last week at the firm's factory in St Augustine, Florida, and the occasion was marked by a special ceremony featuring representatives from the French Navy, Northrop Grumman, Naval Air Systems Command and the Navy International Programs Office.

The planes, which will provide air defence and support the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group, are set to replace its E-2C Hawkeye 2000 fleet, which have been in service since the late 1990s. The first new aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in 2027.

The new aircraft will boast a host of modernised systems compared to the assets they are replacing, including a new avionics suite with the new AN/APY-9 radar, a new radio suite and mission computer, integrated satellite communications, a flight management system, and upgraded engines. The planes will also have aerial refuelling capability.

As per a recent company press statement, France is the only nation other than the U.S. to operate its AEW craft from an aircraft carrier.

Northrop Grumman's vice president of multi-domain command and control programs Janice Zilch commented: “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.”

Used at altitude, radar systems on AEW aircraft allow the operators to detect, track and prioritize targets and distinguish friendly aircraft from hostile ones in real-time and at greater distance away than ground- or sea-based radars; their mobility and extended range makes them less vulnerable to counter-attacks than ground systems.

• You can read more details on the Northrop Grumman website