Editing Grumman E-2 Hawkeye (section)

===US Navy===
[[File:E-2C Landing.jpg|thumb|A US Navy E-2C of VAW-117 approaches the flight deck of {{USS|John C. Stennis}}.|alt=E-2C in landing configuration; upgraded; aircraft has been upgraded to have 8 propellers.]]
[[File:US Navy E-2D Hawkeye - Iwakuni, Japan - MCAS Iwakuni's 46th Friendship Day - May 2025.jpg|thumb|US Navy E-2D Hawkeye flies over Iwakuni, Japan (May 4, 2025)]]

The E-2A entered U.S. Navy service in January 1964 and in April 1964 with [[VAW-11]] at [[NAS North Island]].<ref name="JAWA76 p291" /> The first deployment was aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|6}} during 1965.<ref name="Godfrey p8">Godfrey 1977, p.8.</ref>

Since entering combat during the [[Vietnam War]], the E-2 has served the US Navy around the world, acting as the electronic "eyes of the fleet".

In August 1981, a Hawkeye from VAW-124 "Bear Aces" directed two [[F-14 Tomcat]]s from [[VFA-41|VF-41]] "Black Aces" in an intercept mission in the [[Gulf of Sidra]] that resulted in the [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)|downing of two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22s]]. Hawkeyes from [[VAW-123]] aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|America|CV-66|6}} directed a group of [[F-14 Tomcat]] fighters flying the Combat Air Patrol during [[Operation El Dorado Canyon]], the joint strike of two Carrier Battle Groups in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] against [[Libya]]n targets during 1986.

More recently, E-2Cs provided the command and control for both [[aerial warfare]] and land-attack missions during the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]]. Hawkeyes have supported the [[U.S. Coast Guard]], the [[U.S. Customs Service]], and American federal and state [[police force]]s during anti-drug operations.

In the mid-1980s, several U.S. Navy E-2Cs were made available to the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs Service for counter-narcotics (CN) and [[maritime interdiction]] operations (MIO). This also led to the Coast Guard building a small cadre of [[Naval Flight Officer]]s (NFOs), starting with the recruitment and interservice transfer of Navy flight officers with E-2 flight experience and the flight training of other junior Coast Guard officers as NFOs. A fatal aircraft mishap on 24 August 1990 involving a Coast Guard E-2C at the former [[Naval Station Roosevelt Roads]] in [[Puerto Rico]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/AviationCasualties.asp|title=U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Casualties|work=uscg.mil|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214045456/https://www.uscg.mil/history/AviationCasualties.asp|archive-date=December 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> prompted the Coast Guard to discontinue flying E-2Cs and to return its E-2Cs to the Navy. The U.S. Customs Service also returned its E-2Cs to the Navy and concentrated on the use of former U.S. Navy [[P-3 Orion]] aircraft in the CN role.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

[[File:Hawkeye DN-SD-02-03997.jpg|thumb|left|Hawkeye interior (Group 0 configuration)]]
E-2C Hawkeye squadrons played a critical role in air operations during [[Operation Desert Storm]]. In one instance, a Hawkeye crew provided critical air control direction to two [[F/A-18 Hornet]] aircrew, resulting in the shootdown of two Iraqi [[MiG-21]]s. During Operations [[Operation Southern Watch|Southern Watch]] and [[Operation Desert Fox|Desert Fox]], Hawkeye crews continued to provide thousands of hours of air coverage, while providing air-to-air and air-to-ground command and control in a number of combat missions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

The E-2 Hawkeye is a crucial component of all U.S. Navy [[carrier air wing]]s; each carrier is equipped with four Hawkeyes (five in some situations), allowing for continuous 24-hour-a-day operation of at least one E-2 and for one or two to undergo maintenance in the aircraft carrier's [[aircraft carrier|hangar deck]] at all times. Until 2005, the US Navy Hawkeyes were organized into East and West coast wings, supporting the respective fleets. However, the East coast wing was disestablished, all aircraft were organized into a single wing based at Point Mugu, California. Six E-2C aircraft were deployed by the US Naval Reserve for drug interdiction and homeland security operations until 9 March 2013, when the sole Reserve squadron, VAW-77 "Nightwolves", was decommissioned and its six aircraft sent to other squadrons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norfolknavyflagship.com/oceana/news/fleet_news/article_8a787942-82a3-11e2-840f-001a4bcf887a.html|title=VAW-77 'Nightwolves' to be disestablished March 9|first=From Commander, Naval Air Force Reserve Public|last=Affairs|work=norfolknavyflagship.com|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/military/index.ssf/2013/03/navys_nightwolves_gather_one_l.html|title=Navy's 'Nightwolves' gather one last time at the Naval Air Station before decommissioning|work=nola.com|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806210342/http://www.nola.com/military/index.ssf/2013/03/navys_nightwolves_gather_one_l.html|archive-date=August 6, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Operation Enduring Freedom]] and [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]] all ten Regular Navy Hawkeye squadrons flew overland sorties. They provided battle management for attack of enemy ground targets, close-air-support coordination, combat search and rescue control, airspace management, as well as datalink and communication relay for both land and naval forces. During the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]], three Hawkeye squadrons (two Regular Navy and one Navy Reserve) were deployed in support of civilian relief efforts including [[Air Traffic Control]] responsibilities spanning three states, and the control of [[U.S. Army]], U.S. Navy, [[U.S. Air Force]], [[U.S. Marine Corps]], U.S. Coast Guard and [[U.S. National Guard|Army National Guard and Air National Guard]] [[helicopter]] rescue units.

[[File:US Navy 081111-N-9565D-035 Lt. j.g. Doug Fitzpatrick, left, and Lt. Cmdr. Brian Beck conduct airborne early warning and strike group coordination.jpg|thumb|The cockpit of an E-2C Hawkeye of United States Navy [[VAW-115]].]]
Hawkeye 2000s first deployed in 2003 aboard {{USS|Nimitz}} with VAW-117, the "Wallbangers" (formerly the "Nighthawks") and CVW-11. U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeyes have been upgraded with eight-bladed propellers as part of the NP2000 program; the first squadron to cruise with the new propellers was VAW-124 "Bear Aces". The Hawkeye 2000 version can track over 2,000 targets simultaneously while also detecting 20,000 targets to a range greater than {{convert|400|mi|km|abbr=on}} and simultaneously guide 40–100 air-to-air intercepts or air-to-surface engagements.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

In 2014, several E-2C Hawkeyes from the Bear Aces of VAW-124 were deployed from {{USS|George H.W. Bush}} as flying command posts and air traffic controllers over Iraq during [[2014 military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Operation Inherent Resolve]] against the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]].<ref name="breakingdefense17oct14">[http://breakingdefense.com/2014/10/e-2d-hits-ioc-navy-hawkeyes-larger-more-lethal-role/ E-2D Hits IOC; Navy Hawkeye Gets Larger, Lethal Role] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020010637/http://breakingdefense.com/2014/10/e-2d-hits-ioc-navy-hawkeyes-larger-more-lethal-role/ |date=October 20, 2014}}- Breaking Defense, 17 October 2014</ref>

VAW-120, the E-2C [[fleet replacement squadron]] began receiving E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes for training use in July 2010.<ref>{{Citation |last= Wiltrout |first= Kate |title= Navy welcomes Advanced Hawkeye, newest eye in the sky |newspaper= The Virginian-Pilot |date= 30 July 2010 |url= http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/navy-welcomes-advanced-hawkeye-newest-eye-sky |access-date= July 30, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110914182241/http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/navy-welcomes-advanced-hawkeye-newest-eye-sky |archive-date= September 14, 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref> On 27 March 2014, the first E-2Ds were delivered to the [[VAW-125]].<ref>[http://www.deagel.com/news/E-2D-Advanced-Hawkeye-Command-and-Control-Aircraft-Joins-the-US-Navys-Fleet_n000012529.aspx E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Command and Control Aircraft Joins the US Navy's Fleet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810132021/http://www.deagel.com/news/E-2D-Advanced-Hawkeye-Command-and-Control-Aircraft-Joins-the-US-Navys-Fleet_n000012529.aspx |date=August 10, 2014}} – Deagel.com, 27 March 2014</ref> The E-2D achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in October 2014 when [[VAW-125]] was certified to have five operational aircraft. This began training on the aircraft for its first operational deployment, scheduled for 2015 aboard {{USS|Theodore Roosevelt|CVN-71|6}}.<ref>[https://archive.today/20141017153343/http://www.navytimes.com/article/20141016/NEWS04/310160060/New-Navy-E-2D-aircraft-goes-operational New Navy E-2D aircraft goes operational] – Navytimes.com, 16 October 2014</ref><ref>Butler, Amy, "Ready to sail", Aviation Week and Space Technology, October 27, 2014</ref> The E-2D will play a larger role than that of the E-2C, with five E-2Ds aboard each carrier instead of the current four C-models, requiring the acquisition of 75 total E-2Ds.<ref name="breakingdefense17oct14"/> On 11 March 2015, the ''Theodore Roosevelt'' Carrier Strike Group departed Naval Station Norfolk<ref>[http://www.navy.mil/viewVideo.asp?id=20272 ALL HANDS update] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316034940/http://www.navy.mil/viewVideo.asp?id=20272 |date=March 16, 2015}} Headlines for Thursday, March 12, 2015.</ref> and returned to port on 23 November 2015, concluding the first operational use of the E-2D.<ref>[http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/11/23/carrier-tr-returns-round--world-deployment/76267290/ Carrier Theodore Roosevelt returns from round-the-world deployment] – Navytimes.com, 23 November 2015</ref>