A JASDF E-2D is delivered via sea in 2022. Japan is bulking up its AEW capabilities as tensions in the Western Pacific rise. (US Marine Corps/Lance Cpl David Getz)
The US Navy (USN) and Japan purchased nine newbuild Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, according to US Department of Defense (DoD) contract announcements on 19 July. Five of the new aircraft are destined for the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).
Northrop Grumman told Janes that it expects to deliver the first USN aircraft from this order in the first quarter (Q1) of calendar year 2028, followed by the first Japanese aircraft in Q4. The Japanese aircraft were contracted with the USN via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) device on 9 August 2023.
The purchase follows the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency's (DSCA's) March 2023 notification to Congress. The purchase includes radars and other essential equipment, including two spare engines, in addition to personnel training. Neither the USN nor JASDF E-2Ds is to be equipped with Delta System Software Configuration 6, which provides a new mission computer and displays among other changes and is scheduled for introduction in fiscal year (FY) 2027.
Although the USN aircraft are to be configured identically to those produced previously, “the aircraft being built for [JASDF] will have hardware and software changes to meet the customer's requirements”, Northrop Grumman said.
Today the JASDF operates seven E-2Ds, according to Janes All the World's Aircraft , the first of which entered service in 2019. In addition, the service operates nine E-2Cs, which first entered service in 1982.
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