"Obsolete weapons do not deter."
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed specifically for its role, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the Boeing E-3 Sentry. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft.

The E-2 also received the nickname "Super Fudd" because it replaced the E-1 Tracer "Willy Fudd". In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the "Hummer" because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USN Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye AEW Aircraft that was attached to VAW-115 "Liberty Bells" then participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom and embarked upon the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 13-1/2-inches
Length: 9-3/4-inches

Release Date: December 2016

Historical Account: "Liberty Bells" - Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115 (VAW-115), also known as the "Liberty Bells", is a United States Navy squadron based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi that flies the E-2C Hawkeye 2000. The "Liberty Bells" are the Navy's only forward deployed Airborne Early Warning squadron and is the oldest and only original squadron in Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5).

In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, VAW-115 deployed to the Persian Gulf in October 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield. In January 1991, Desert Shield transitioned to Desert Storm and saw VAW-115 flying 179 combat sorties. In August 1991, USS Midway was decommissioned and CVW-5 embarked on USS Independence. During the ensuing years, the squadron deployed to the Persian Gulf four times in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing a No-Fly Zone over the skies of southern Iraq. In January 1998, VAW-115 and the Independence Battle Group were called upon to participate in various Persian Gulf contingency operations in support of United Nations sanctions. After transitioning to the E-2C Group II Navigation Upgrade aircraft, VAW-115 cross-decked with CVW-5 to USS Kitty Hawk in the Summer of 1998.