The air force must replace its fleet of Northrop Grumman E-2K Hawkeye airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS) with the E-2D variant in the face of increased Chinese incursions into areas east of Taiwan, a source said yesterday.
The military plans to buy six E-2Ds — the most advanced Hawkeye variant that the US Navy uses — to replace the five operational aircraft in its inventory, the source said on condition of anonymity.
On Jan. 17, the Legislative Yuan suspended NT$90 billion (US$2.73 billion) of the Executive Yuan’s proposed defense budget and slashed another NT$8.4 billion as part of a historic 6.6 percent cut to the general budget.
Photo: Reuters
The air force has long eyed the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and asked Washington twice for their sale, the source said.
The first request was rejected due to its perceived redundancy with land-based radar, the source said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s activities to the east of Taiwan and its development of stealth aircraft have underscored the importance of advanced, over-the-horizon capability offered by the E-2D platform, the source said.
This year represents a special opportunity for Taiwan to obtain the E-2D, as assembly lines have been activated to fulfill a Japanese contract for the same system, the source said.
The military’s plan to obtain the radar planes was based on “clear operational need and in no way wastes public funds,” they said.
In 1995, the air force received four E-2T aircraft that entered into service the same year. In 2013, they were upgraded to the E-2K standard.
The air force bought two new E-2K aircraft in 1999, which entered service in 2005.
However, one was seriously damaged in November 2022 when it skidded off the runway at a Pingtung County air base after its landing gear was not deployed because of pilot error.
The E-2D features an active electronically scanned array radar and sensor fusion, enabling superior multiple-target detection and tracking capabilities compared with the E-2K, which uses an analog radar, publicly available sources showed.
Separately, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday declined to comment on reports that it plans to buy Sikorsky MH-60R anti-submarine warfare helicopters or M109A7 self-propelled howitzers from the US, only saying that Taiwan needs to bolster its national defense.
“The nation’s arms procurement plan aims to meet four goals: build up asymmetric warfare capabilities, strengthen defense resilience, enhance reserve combat’s capabilities and effectively respond to gray zone activities according to the level of threat and progress made in integrating the military services for joint warfare,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The stability and predictability of the defense budget is of key importance to maintaining the military’s ability to defend the nation, they added.
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