On Jul. 6, 2020 France has been cleared by the US State Department to buy 3 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.
According to Transmittal no 20-40, ‘The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of France of three (3) E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. ‘The Government of France requests to buy three (3) E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft, ten (10) T-56-427A engines (6 installed and 4 spares), three (3) AN/APY-9 radar assemblies, four (4) AN/ALQ-217 electronic support measure systems (3 installed and 1 spare), three (3) AN/AYK-27 Integrated Navigation Channels and Display Systems, five (5) Link-16 (MIDS-JTRS) Communications Systems (3 installed and 2 spares), ten (10) Embedded GPS/INS (EGI) Devices (6 installed and 4 spares), four (4) AN/APX-122(A) and AN/APX-123(A) Identification, Friend or Foe systems (3 installed and 1 spare) and one (1) Joint Mission Planning System. Also included are Common Systems Integration Laboratories with/Test Equipment, one in Melbourne, FL, and the other in France; air and ground crew equipment; support equipment; spare and repair parts; publications and technical documentation; transportation; training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor logistics, engineering, and technical support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $2 billion.
‘The proposed sale will improve France’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing its Naval Air Forces with a sustainable follow on capability to their current, legacy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2D aircraft will continue and expand French naval aviation capabilities and maintain interoperability with US naval forces. As a current E-2C operator, France will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.’
The French Navy has been operating the E-2C Hawkeye since 2000 when it stood up the first French E-2 Hawkeye squadron, the Flotille 4F, in Lorient. France is the only country other than the United States to operate its E-2 Hawkeyes from an aircraft carrier. This unique bond has led to multiple interoperability exercises where the two navies have operated Hawkeyes from each other’s carrier flight decks. The first of these took place in May 2001 when a US Navy E-2 Hawkeye flew from the deck of the USS Enterprise to the deck of the French carrier Charles de Gaulle.
This shared operational experience has proved invaluable to ensuring that the multimission E-2 Hawkeye platform remains relevant to the warfighter, no matter where missions take them. Through collaborative efforts, each new generation of the Hawkeye has become more sophisticated, taking advantage of new technology developments to optimize the capability and reliability of the E-2 platform.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy
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