ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., April 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy's first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye patrol plane was rolled out Monday, marking the launch of an even more-advanced ocean surveillance capability.
The turbo-prop plane gives the Navy a platform for a new radar system that can see smaller oceangoing targets at greater ranges than current aircraft, improving the ability to spot smugglers, small-boat terrorists and surfaced submarines.
More revolutionary is the plane's ability to detect and track cruise missiles that would pose a threat to the carriers the plane will fly from and to Navy task forces operating on coastal areas.
"It is a game changer for the warfighter," predicted Rear Adm. Pete Williams, the head of the Navy's tactical aircraft development program.
The E-2D boasts the APY-9 radar, a Lockheed Martin product that when coupled with the new L-3 Communications rotodome provides 360-degree scanning capability combined with an electronically scanned array that allows the crew to focus on a particular subject of interest.
In addition, the Advanced Hawkeye is equipped with more-sophisticated communications gear designed to integrate the aircraft into the overall command-and-control system.
The plane that was unveiled in a small ceremony at the Northrop plant in St. Augustine, Fla., is the first of two planes that will be used for test purposes in the run-up to operational deployment in 2011.
