The US Navy’s “eyes in the sky” just got a major upgrade. Lockheed Martin recently delivered the 75th next-gen APY-9 radar system, specially built for the Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. This new and improved radar is a really big deal, giving the Navy an edge in critical airborne surveillance missions.
So what’s so great about this new radar? Well, the APY-9 allows the Hawkeye to detect even small, fast-moving targets in challenging conditions like bad weather or complex coastal areas. It provides a full 360-degree view around the aircraft too, without any blind spots. Way better than trying to spot things by eye!
The APY-9 makes this possible using advanced technologies like space-time adaptive processing to filter out clutter and jamming. It also employs a high-power solid-state transmitter for extra long-range capabilities. Pretty cool stuff!
This reliable, ultra-sensitive system works day and night in all weather. It gives the E-2D Hawkeye its reputation as the “eyes of the fleet,” offering critical early warning and command and control to protect Navy ships and aircraft.
With growing demand, Lockheed Martin expects to keep producing these radars until the late 2020s. Domestically and internationally, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with its APY-9 radar has become essential for national security and joint operations.
After over 20 years of partnership between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, the Hawkeye truly is a next-generation platform. It swiftly shares surveillance data to enhance situational awareness and decision-making. That means faster coordination between detection and response – crucial when lives are on the line.
So while it may not be as flashy as some defense tech, this new radar is quietly revolutionary. It’s allowing the Navy’s “eyes in the sky” to see further and more clearly than ever before.
