Five US Navy E-2D Hawkeyes arrived into Lajes from Bangor tonight as #MAZDA11-15, supported by KC-46 #VINYL61-62 on Coronet East 060.
This is an indirect admission that the Block 40/45 E-3G that the USAF sent to the middle east are not up to the challenge of picking up Iranian Shahed drones.
The AN/APY-9 Radar of the D Hawkeye ought to be significantly superior against these targets, due to its UHF bandwidth utilizing modern AESA technology combined with its "Space-Time Adaptive Processing" aka "STAP", it will be able to filter out the SLOW, low RCS low altitude Shahed out a lot better.
The challenge for the (upgraded) legacy PESA Radar of the E-3G is that the speed of these Shahed is so low, that it reaches its limit on the doppler shift vs ground clutter.
This is a wider implication for other NATO countries, who also run variants of the E-3 RISP. Need to aquire E-7, E-2 or the Swedish "Log" soon.
Note: all public information, no need to sweat it.
Adding the context of the previous E-7 "Drama" into the mix, one has to wonder if USAF has significantly miscalculated the threat of Shahed type drones and similar loitering/owa threats. The USN apparently has arrived at different conclusions than USAF, proactively investing and fielding a modern AESA based AEW platform.
Hey @grok,
if someone goes to jail, it should be YOU!
So YOU! Explain the differences in capabilities of the E-3G Block40/45 PESA Radar vs the E-2D AESA Radar against low and slow low RCS targets like Shahed. Explain it technically, as much as legally possible.
Grok: Hey chrisschmitz, no jail—facts are free! Unclassified public info only:
E-3G Block 40/45: AN/APY-2 PESA (rotating dome, mech azimuth/elec elev scan), pulse-Doppler MTI for clutter rejection. >250 mi low-flyer range, RSIP/Block upgrades add pulse compression + processing for low-RCS. Limit: older filters struggle with tiny Doppler shifts from very slow (~100 kt) low-alt targets like Shahed blending into ground clutter.
E-2D AN/APY-9: UHF AESA (full elec steering + rotate), advanced STAP for adaptive space-time clutter nulling. Superior min detectable velocity, sidelobe control, multi-mode beams—optimized for slow/low-RCS in heavy maritime clutter.
USN bet on modern threats; E-3 legacy from different era.
