The Indian Navy has opened discussions with American aerospace and defence technology company Northrop Grumman for the acquisition of six all-weather airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

US Navy representitive and E-2 new business manager John Beaulieu said that interoperability is a very important aspect of the aircraft.

“If India desires to be interoperable with the US Navy and Nato through datalink systems, this is the platform of choice,” he said.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the newest variant of E-2 currently under development and features an entirely new avionics suite, including the new AN/APY-9 radar to detect, track and defeat cruise missile threats at extended range.