Navy stresses need for E-2D as costs grow - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Navy stresses need for E-2D as costs grow

The E-2D Hawkeye is over budget, but the Navy needs it anyway, defense officials told Congress this month.

Since 2003, the E-2D program’s unit cost grew from $163 million to $204 million, a Navy spokesman said.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus sent a June 11 letter to lawmakers on Capitol Hill notifying them of the cost overruns. Congress requires defense officials to formally notify them if a program runs more than 25 percent over budget, a threshold known as a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act.

At the same time, defense officials said the aircraft program is essential to national security and the cost overruns are unavoidable, according to a June 11 letter to Congress from Ashton Carter, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

The Navy on June 15 approved the E-2D for low-rate initial production, according to the aircraft’s manufacturer, Northrop Grumman.

The new Hawkeye will have a completely redesigned interior with a new radar system and advanced missile-defense capabilities, according to Northrop Grumman. It is scheduled to begin the operational evaluation phase of the development in fiscal year 2012, the company said.