Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) and Northrop Grumman Corp yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for upgrading the US firm’s E-2K Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft in Taiwan, AIDC said.
The defense contractors’ representatives inked the memorandum at the Singapore Airshow to signal an agreement for a strategic partnership in the proposed E-2 upgrade project, which would be carried out in Taiwan, it said.
The upgrade program could be a shot in the arm for Taiwan’s efforts to create a self-reliant defense industrial base, including being able to produce components for key weapons, a capability that has taken on greater importance amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
AIDC was the first choice for implementing the E-2K upgrade project thanks to the company’s US Defense Contract Management Agency-approved manufacturing facilities and internationally certified capability to produce critical components, it said.
The company has experience working with an original manufacturer of a foreign-developed combat aircraft, as it is currently implementing an effort to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16A/B jets to F-16V standard, it added.
The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is a radar-bearing turboprop aircraft designed to detect ships and aircraft in a battlespace, identify friend or foe tasks, direct friendly aircraft in combat operations, and conduct strikes against submarines and ground targets.
The air force operates a fleet of six E-2K, an export variant based on the E-2C model, from an air base in Pingtung. The E-2D, the most advanced Hawkeye variant, is in service with the US Navy.
Taiwan has limited ability to repair the E2-K. In 2022, the Ministry of National Defense was forced to scrap one airframe that sustained landing gear damage during a mishap, deeming its repairs to be prohibitively costly.
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