Upgraded Hawkeye Deck-Tested On Carrier

The Navy’s recently upgraded E-2C Hawkeye made history Nov. 22 by becoming the first of its kind to land on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Ironically, the landing comes 40 years to the day after the assassination of the president for which the carrier is named.

USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), at sea for flight deck certification, provided the platform for Lt. Cmdr. Michael Santomauro to land the newly-designed, early-warning propeller aircraft.

In the spring of 2001, the Navy began field-testing a new propeller configuration for the E-2Cs. Setting its sights on improving the reliability and maintainability of the aircraft, the Navy replaced the four-bladed propellers with an eight-bladed variety.

"I could tell when it was coming in that it was different from the standard E-2s," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Steve Hemmer of V-2 division. "It’s a lot quieter and seems more modern."

The landing marked the final chapter in a project that has yielded a major asset for the sea services.

"It was pretty gratifying for me to make this flight," said Santomauro, project officer for VX-20 out of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. "The final step for the program was to evaluate the flying capabilities and operation of the E-2C in a carrier environment. Kennedy provided us with that."

The E-2C is an early warning, command and control aircraft designed to provide ships at sea with radar support and data related to enemy positions and maneuvers.

"In layman’s terms, the Hawkeye coordinates the good guys and looks for the bad guys," said former naval aviator Les Ryan, now a test pilot with VX-20.

With the successful carrier landing in the hopper, the Navy can now begin retrofitting the remaining E-2Cs with the new eight-bladed props.

The plan calls for complete overhaul of the entire fleet squadron by March 2004.

ANN extends a special thanks to Journalist Seaman Timothy J. Cox, USS John F. Kennedy Public Affairs.

FMI: www.news.navy.mil/local/cv67