Northrop Grumman plans later this quarter to begin flight testing the prototype of an electronically steered UHF radar intended for the Advanced Hawkeye, the next step in development of the US Navy's E-2C carrier-borne airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft.
The company has modified a Lockheed Martin NC-130H to serve as the testbed for the E-2C Radar Modernisation Programme (RMP). A six-month flight test programme is planned to reduce risk ahead of the first prototype RMP/Advanced Hawkeye delivery in 2007 and the aircraft entering service in 2008.
Northrop Grumman has changed the NC-130H's cooling and power systems, wing, cabling and supporting structure for the radar rotodome. The aircraft will be equipped with a prototype transmitter, receiver, antenna and 21-channel rotary coupler, but no crew workstations. Data will be recorded and analysed on the ground.
The Lockheed Martin solid-state radar is a hybrid design. The 360° -scan antenna is housed in the same 7.3m (24ft)-diameter rotodome as on the latest Hawkeye 2000 and older Group 2 standard aircraft, but the beam can be steered electronically for critical target detection and tracking. The system promises improved performance in high-clutter littoral environments.
The Advanced Hawkeye will also have a new glass cockpit, infrared search and track sensor and improved electronic support measures. There will be longer-term investment on a follow-on fixed-array UHF radar.
Source: Flight International
