Northrop Says Program On-Track For Next Milestone

Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye System recently completed its Operational Assessment (OA), flying out of the Northrop Grumman East Coast Manufacturing and Flight Test Center in St. Augustine, FL. With completion of OA, the flight test program has accumulated more than 600 flight hours, over half involving in-flight radar testing.

"This is another significant milestone for the E-2D program," said Tom Vice, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems Eastern Region sector vice president. "This achievement demonstrates the commitment of the Northrop Grumman team to working together with the US Navy to deliver this state-of-the-art weapons system to the warfighter."

Utilizing two test aircraft equipped with fully functioning mission systems, OA was conducted by a US Navy test squadron to assess the potential effectiveness of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye in a mission environment. Successful completion of OA is one of the critical steps the program must go through prior to a US Navy decision on low-rate initial production.

"Since entering flight test in August 2007, the joint Northrop Grumman and US Navy Advanced Hawkeye team have been working hard, focusing on preparing for OA," said Jim Culmo, vice president of Airborne Early Warning and Battle Management Command and Control Programs for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "We are very pleased that during OA, all test objectives were executed, and we experienced no major system failures. The fact that we had an aircraft availability rate of over 92 percent is a testament to the outstanding teamwork of Northrop Grumman employees, our suppliers and US Navy personnel.

"I am extremely proud of the fact that we set a date for Operational Assessment over five years ago and have completed yet another major milestone, on schedule, in accordance with our commitment to our customer," Culmo added. "With Operational Assessment now complete, and a 'green' rating on Production Readiness, we are definitely on track for a successful Milestone C in 2009."

According to DoD criteria, Milestone C authorizes production of prototypes expected to meet operational specifications, and allows the manufacturer to conduct testing to verify performance parameters.

The official written report on the OA is anticipated to be released by the Navy in late December.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com, www.navy.mil