US willing to offer India advanced Hawkeye-2D spy plane

[KENT]

US willing to offer India advanced Hawkeye-2D spy plane
17 Dec 2007, 1319 hrs IST , IANS

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: The US is willing to offer its most advanced maritime spy plane, the advanced Hawkeye-2D, to India. According to a report in the forthcoming issue of India Strategic defence magazine, the Indian Navy had issued an RFI (Request for Information) for the aircraft to the US government some time back. Although Washington is yet to release this aircraft for export "it could be sold to countries like India, Egypt, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)", the report added. The aircraft is still under development and Northrop Grumman, its manufacturer, should achieve initial operational capability in 2011. Its first test flight was conducted only in August. The advanced Hawkeye-2D looks like the existing Hawkeye-2C but will be much different and better with improved performance. It will feature the new APY-9 spy radar, radio suite, mission computer, integrated satellite communications capability, flight management system, improved engines, a new "glass" cockpit and the ability to refuel in-flight. A Grumman-built AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar will form part of the spy radar system. This AESA will feature a 360-degree, all-weather rotodome antenna and space-time adaptive processing, digital receivers, Adaptive Detection System (ADS) -18/rotary coupler assembly with a co-aligned IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) suite. Sources told India Strategic that the Indian Navy had no interest in the existing Hawkeye-2C but the fact that the US was willing to offer a system virtually at the same time as its own navy would induct it, was important. "The new technology is tempting." Sources in Washington confirmed India's interest and said that "as and when a formal request is received from New Delhi, the answer should be positive." The Indian Navy also wanted the aircraft to be capable of staying in the air for eight hours, instead of six in the existing aircraft. "Suitable modifications are being planned in the new aircraft by adding wet wings, that is, wings capable of carrying fuel," the sources said. Besides, the midair refuelling capability would enhance this capability further. Of about a dozen operators of the existing aircraft, only the US Navy and the French Aviation Navale use their Hawkeyes for shipboard operations, for which they have folding wings. For shore-based operations, as in the case for India, the wings could be conventional with fuel-carrying capacity. It may be noted that unlike the Lockheed Martin P3C Orions, or the Boeing P8I - another modern aircraft under development - the Hawkeyes do not carry any weapons and are pure intelligence and command and control aircraft. The Orions and the Boeing P8s are designed for much longer ranges and midair staying capability of 16 hours, and also carry anti ship and submarine weapons like the Harpoons. According to a Northrop Grumman statement, "the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye delivers battle management, theatre air and missile defence, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system. These advances provide war fighters with the necessary situational awareness to compress the time between initial awareness and active engagement. "The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is a game changer in how the Navy will conduct battle management command and control. By serving as the 'digital quarterback' to sweep ahead of strike, manage the mission, and keep the net-centric carrier battle groups out of harms way, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the key to advancing the mission, no matter what it may be." The new aircraft will have a crew of five, including the pilot, co-pilot and three mission operators. Two Rolls Royce T56 engines will power the propeller-driven aircraft. Development costs for the aircraft are being funded by the US government, which will buy at least 75 of them for its navy. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30billion global defence and technology company providing innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. It set up an India office earlier this year.


Editorial is from Times of India.

 

[Energon]

How does this aircraft fit into the Indian Navy's need for a maritime AEW? The Hawkeye was primarily designed for ship borne missions. Given that none of the Indian carriers (current or near future) have the ability to launch the aircraft from their decks; and the Navy clearly indicating their desire to use it for shore based operations, they might as well go for aircrafts made for that purpose.

Also Northrop Grumman from what I understand does not have a industrial set up in India unlike Boeing. Boeing is willing to invest in a larger facility provided there is ample incentive. Purchasing a combination of P-8s and 737AEWs makes far more sense.

 

[Keysersoze]

The article is all waffle. No where does it say it was offered. only that India has asked for information.

The U.S. rarely gives out new equipment the same time as it is inducted into it's navy. The most important parts of the article are
"Although Washington is yet to release this aircraft for export"
"The aircraft is still under development and Northrop Grumman, its manufacturer, should achieve initial operational capability in 2011."

 

[Energon]

I'm not sure if foreign nations are allowed to turn in RFIs for any sensitive technology unless there are some indications that a sale is possible.

The only reason I'm inclined to believe this story is because of the overly competitive nature of the industry and the fact that Northrop's competitors Boeing and Lockheed have offered their state of the art products which are also in the pipelines.

It all boils down to $$$. India is a multi-billion dollar market for these companies and currently it's a free for all... the most vicious one wins.

 

[Keysersoze]

I'm not sure if foreign nations are allowed to turn in RFIs for any sensitive technology unless there are some indications that a sale is possible.

The only reason I'm inclined to believe this story is because of the overly competitive nature of the industry and the fact that Northrop's competitors Boeing and Lockheed have offered their state of the art products which are also in the pipelines.

It all boils down to $$$. India is a multi-billion dollar market for these companies and currently it's a free for all... the most vicious one wins.

Money as has been seen with the India/Russia situation does not make the world go around.
The technology issue is important, as even close allies such as the U.K. were having problems with tech issues with the JSF. I doubt that the countries mentioned would get the E2D until a good few years after the USN and close allies.
Also if you look at it they haven't really been offered any of the latest items. I remember hearing about a P-8 rumour(The baseline P-8A will fly in September 2009, with initial operational capability set for 2013 and the first capability upgrade spiral to be available around 2015 The offer was for P-3's until P-8's would be made available further down the road.), and JSF (which was infact F-16's with some JSF features stuck on)But nothing more was heard of those.

Sorry but the article is waffle and self aggrandizement.

 

[Energon]

Money as has been seen with the India/Russia situation does not make the world go around.

Not really sure what this means.

The technology issue is important, as even close allies such as the U.K. were having problems with tech issues with the JSF. I doubt that the countries mentioned would get the E2D until a good few years after the USN and close allies.

Technology is only an issue when total tech transfers are concerned. As far as I know only the units are being purchased without any tech transfer or offsets. This is why the JSF and Raytheon's latest AESAs have been offered. Likewise, just as with Boeing's P8, what Lockheed is looking for are partners to put up money during development.. all the partners get their variants (in this case the P8I) at the same time. This is essentially how the JSF program is designed.

Also if you look at it they haven't really been offered any of the latest items. I remember hearing about a P-8 rumour(The baseline P-8A will fly in September 2009, with initial operational capability set for 2013 and the first capability upgrade spiral to be available around 2015 The offer was for P-3's until P-8's would be made available further down the road.),

What you're saying doesn't even make sense. P3s are made by Lockheed Martin who is a direct competitor of Boeing, the company that is going to produce the P8. One can't be offered as a stop-gap measure until another manufacturer produces their newest product. LM offered their latest upgraded version of the P3 which hasn't been produced yet and as mentioned above Boeing offered to put India on as a partner for the P8 program. And yes, both of these are their top of the line products since none of them have been produced yet. The IN decided to go with the IL38 because the P3 is on it's way out even with the USN.The P8 program is still under consideration as far as I know.

JSF (which was infact F-16's with some JSF features stuck on)But nothing more was heard of those.

This is complete nonsense. The deals were for two separate aircrafts. There's no such thing as an "F-16 with some JSF features stuck on" it. I think you're getting confused with Raytheon's offer to equip whatever MRCA with their AESAs. Lockheed wants India to buy around 130 F-16s first and then an option to get more JSFs will be opened up later.

Sorry but the article is waffle and self aggrandizement.

Not really sure where the self aggrandizment fits in. It's just another competitor hawking it's product, nothing more.