MSPO 2024: Northrop Grumman signs Polish MOU, aiming for future E2-D success

Two of Northrop Grumman's E2-D Advanced Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft in service with the US Navy. (Northrop Grumman)

Northrop Grumman signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych: ITWL) this week as the country considers its longer-term airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capabilities.

Signed by executives on 4 September at the MSPO 2024 defence exhibition in Kielce, Poland, the MOU centres on the possible provision of Northrop Grumman's E2-D Advanced Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft, which is in service with the US Navy (USN) and could be offered to the Polish Air Force.

The MOU follows the delivery of two Saab 340 Erieye AEW&C aircraft to Poland, the first in March and the second in June. Officially designated as Polish Air Force assets, the two aircraft will be operated by the Polish Navy as they contribute to generating a “detailed situational picture that can be used for military and civilian tasks including air surveillance and rescue operations”, according to a Saab statement issued in September 2023.

The two Saab 340s aircraft are second-hand retired airframes from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that had been stored in Sweden. Saab said the award was valued at approximately SEK600 million (USD58 million), with the contract period 2023–25.

According to Janice Zilch, vice-president of Northrop Grumman's multidomain command-and-control business unit, the company's MOU with Poland is future-leaning with a focus on introducing levels of interoperability with the Polish Air Force's fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) for integrated air and missile defence (IAMD).

Addressing the media at MSPO, Zilch said, “This [interoperability] is already being done through the US Navy and can be offered to Poland from day one.”