Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense intends to purchase six E-2D airborne early warning and control aircraft from the US defense company Northrop Grumman.
This planned acquisition of the early warning aircraft comes as a response to China’s continued military pressure and incursions around the self-ruled island, and its development of a next-generation stealth aircraft.
In addition, the latest E-2D variant will replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of E-2K Hawkeyes. However, specific details about the budget and schedule of the planned acquisition have not been disclosed.
The East Asian country’s first batch of four E-2Ts entered service in 1995 and was upgraded to the E-2K variant in 2013, followed by a couple more E-2Ks commissioned in 2005.
The total fleet of six was reduced to five after one aircraft was damaged in a 2022 accident but was never repaired due to high costs.
‘Window of Opportunity’
Taiwan has reportedly requested to purchase the latest Hawkeyes twice, but the first was rejected due to their redundancy with the country’s ground-based radar systems.
This year marks another attempt to close a sale as an insider disclosed to Taipei Times that “assembly lines have been activated to fulfill a Japanese contract for the same system.”
Furthermore, the Taiwanese daily Liberty Times shared Taiwan Strait Security Research Center director and military expert Mei Fuxing’s statement in July 2024 that there is a “window of opportunity” for the country to acquire the aircraft at a reasonable price before the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, the final funding for the planned E-2D Advanced Hawkeye acquisition will depend on the country’s price request to the US based on system and support choices and how much existing equipment can be utilized.
E-2D Hawkeye
Northrop’s E-2D is among the cutting-edge technologies used by the US Navy and countries including Japan, France, and Egypt.
The Hawkeye features continuous, all-weather, 360-degree coverage and the capability to detect and track aircraft and ships at ranges greater than 550 kilometers (341 miles) with its Lockheed Martin-produced AN/APY-9 radar.
The 57-foot (17 meters) airborne command and control aircraft has a top speed of over 300 knots (555 kilometers/345 miles per hour) and a service ceiling of 37,000 feet (11,277 meters).
It is operated by a crew of five comprising two pilots and a trio of mission systems operators and powered by two Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A turboprop engines.
