Grumman E-2 Hawkeye

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed to be an AEW aircraft from the outset, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the E-3. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier based aircraft.

The E-2 also received the nickname "Super Fudd" because it replaced the E-1 Tracer "Willy Fudd". In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the "Hummer" because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. The E-2 and its sister, the C-2 Greyhound, are currently the only propeller airplanes that operate from aircraft carriers. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Users

 * Australia
 * Royal Australian Navy
 * Canada
 * Royal Canadian Navy
 * Republic of China
 * Republic of China Air Force
 * Egypt
 * Egyptian Air Force
 * France
 * French Navy
 * Israel
 * Israeli Air Force
 * Japan
 * Japan Air Self-Defense Force
 * Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
 * Republic of Korea
 * Republic of Korea Air Force
 * Republic of Korea Navy
 * Mexico
 * Mexican Navy
 * Portugal
 * Portuguese Air Force
 * Singapore
 * Republic of Singapore Air Force
 * United Kingdom
 * Royal Navy
 * United States
 * United States Navy

Related Development

 * Grumman E-1 Tracer
 * Grumman C-2 Greyhound

Comparable Aircraft

 * CASA C-295 AEW&C
 * Viking Air CC-115NVE Viking Farsight
 * Xian JZY-01
 * Shaanxi KJ-500
 * Yakovlev Yak-44E