DoD Inspector General report flags US Navy E-2D Hawkeye deficiencies

A US Navy E-2D Hawkeye. Deficiencies in the Hawkeye were not satisfactorily tracked, according to the US DoD Inspector General. (US Navy)

The US Department of Defense's (DoD's) Inspector General (IG) has released a report claiming that the US Navy's (USN's) fleet of Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft have operational deficiencies that the service has not adequately attempted to resolve.

The report, dated 19 September, alleged that navy squadron PMA-231, charged with E-2D acquisition and testing, “did not effectively manage deficiencies identified during operational testing”, with a total of 141 identified deficiencies unresolved because the squadron “did not track unresolved operational test deficiencies or develop plans” to fix them.

The IG identified over 200 deficiencies, of which 141 were unresolved. None were considered severe enough to compromise the E-2D's radar tracking and command-and-control missions, but 30 were categorised as having a “critical impact on mission accomplishment”, while the majority were considered to have a moderate impact or no impact of significance.

The problems were discovered during testing for various configurations of the Delta System Software Configuration (DSSC) upgrades, which update the software and hardware from the initial E-2D configuration to add capabilities. Testing on four DSSC upgrades has been completed, with additional upgrades slated for testing in fiscal years (FYs) 2025 and 2027.

Almost all deficiencies mentioned in the report are redacted as Controlled Unclassified Information, but unredacted examples include an electronic surveillance system screen that did not clear tracks when requested, and problems locking radar operators' seats in place during take-off and landing.