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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

Hawkeye 2000 is an umbrella term for multiple improvements to the Group II (Joint Tactical Information Distribution System and APS-145 radar equipped) E-2C. The improvements include the addition of the: (1) Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; (2) new vapor cycle system; (3) UHF Satellite communications (SATCOM); replacement of the current mission computer with (4) DEC Alpha commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) computer (mission computer upgrade [MCU]); (5) COTS workstation (Advanced Control Indicator System [ACIS]) display positions; and (6) an integration of the airborne variant of the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC).

Hawkeye 2000 modifications contribute to dominant battlespace awareness for the theater commander. The integration of CEC, UHF SATCOM, and higher capacity MCU supports the exchange and fusion of on-and off-board intelligence, sensor, command and control information. The addition of CEC will allow the E-2C to fully participate in the netted CEC data link; and the UHF SATCOM will be able to support beyond-line-of-sight reception and transmission of warning, surveillance, and command and control information. The addition of GPS will support precise target and friendly force location and synchronized operations through a common time and navigation reference. These improvements will enhance the E-2C as an integral command and control component of carrier battle groups and joint Service operations with increased information superiority and more robust active participation in the integrated, in-depth theater air and missile defense, thereby achieving full-dimensional protection.

Hawkeye 2000 is the most recent of a series of modifications aimed at improving the capability and sustainability of the E-2C airborne early warning platform. The modification of the aircraft will occur incrementally and not in a block upgrade.

The key objective of the upgrade is to provide the Navy with an airborne CEC on the E-2C to extend sensor detection and provide an airborne relay of ship-based CEC data. In order to accommodate an airborne CEC suite, the E-2C required increased mission computing and display capabilities and an offset in weight to carry the estimated 500-750 pound CEC suite. The replacement of the analog mission computer and the three mission crew displays provided the majority of the needed offset in weight. The airframe also required significant modification to the underside to install the CEC antenna and aerodynamic fairings. Finally, an increase in the capacity of the avionics cooling (vapor cycle system) was also required to suppress the additional heat generated by the CEC equipment and new digital mission computer and displays.

Development of all Hawkeye 2000 modifications is being accomplished in parallel. Problems in the development of one modification can ripple through to others. For example, the overrun in allocated mission computer timing and sizing during the rehost of all E-2C mission functionality into Ada impacts the planned budget allocated for integrating CEC.

The Hawkeye 2000 TEMP was disapproved by OSD in April 1996. The Navy was requested to provide additional information on the many Hawkeye 2000 improvements and their interdependencies. A draft MCU TEMP was submitted in March 1997 for OSD coordination and returned with comments on April 21, 1997. The Navy is revising the MCU TEMP. A separate E-2C TEMP annex to the CEC TEMP is being prepared. Comments have been provided on two separate drafts. The Navy is developing a revision to incorporate comments received. Uncertainty regarding program scheduling and funding availability are the principal reasons for the delay in finalizing the TEMPs.

During FY98, combined DT/OT was conducted on an E-2C modified with the new mission computer and ACIS workstations. Over fourteen E-2C DT/OT sorties were flown in addition to some earlier DT sorties. This included a mission to France to demonstrate the mission computer and ACIS to the French military. Only minimal mission functionality¾ primarily radar tracking¾ was available for observation during this testing. Other functions, such as data links (Links 11 and 16), CEC, and the onboard Passive Detection System were not completed and are planned for release in later software versions.

Also during FY98, DT sorties on the first E-2C modified with the airborne CEC equipment were flown with OT observers. The CEC installation contained minimal software capabilities. Increased functionality and integration are expected for FY99 software releases.

The FY98 DT/OT of the E-2C mission computer and ACIS generated more than 460 trouble reports. Initially, the new mission computer proved very unstable in flight with a number of aborted or lengthy reboots. The displays on the ACIS were also highly unsatisfactory because of terminal reliability and display synchronization problems. This indicates a need for closer coordination between Northrop Grumman's software developer for the MC and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's software developer for the ACIS. During the latter portion of flight testing, after the release of newer versions of the mission computer and ACIS software, the mission computers became more stable and some deficiencies relating to the mission computer/ACIS interfaces were resolved.

The initial sorties of the CEC-equipped E-2C indicated a slight airframe shudder when the aircraft speed exceeded 210 knots. The shudder was initially thought to originate from the CEC antenna fairings but was later discovered to result from an improperly reinstalled radome antenna strut. Although that appeared to fix the problem, the shudder has reappeared and the Navy is attempting to determine the its cause. All of the initial sorties so far have originated from land bases. Carrier trials will be conducted during FY99.

Program Managers and the contractors' estimates for major computer software recoding on airborne command and control systems have been grossly underestimated. Experience with both the E-3 AWACS Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) and Hawkeye 2000 indicates that actual processor speed and memory requirements could exceed original estimates by as much as 400 percent, necessitating a transition to new memory modules during development. This is an area that we will continue to watch closely.

Reprogramming functionality from assembly code to a higher level language poses potential risks to embedded hardware, particularly when the software developer lacks in-depth knowledge of complete hardware design. This proved serious during the RSIP testing (radar meltdown due to new software's inadvertent bypass of an interlock) and will be a key function to watch during the testing of Hawkeye 2000.

We can not overstate the difficulty in understanding program risks related to development when portions of the system modifications are dispersed among different program management offices, contractors, and cost accounts.