The first flight of the US Navy's " digital quarterback", the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, took place 15 years ago.
The E-2D is a variant of the E-2. It has improved over its predecessors.
One of the Navy's greatest force multipliers is an eye in the sky that can spot everything and anything in the sky hundreds of miles away.
It is an essential part of the Navy's aviation force and is being upgraded to ensure a longer service life.
The mission of any airborne early warning and control aircraft is to detect and track enemy aircraft, ships, missiles, and vehicles from far away in order to keep friendly units apprised of the threats they face in real-time.
Command and control of AEW&C aircraft are used to relay data, intelligence, orders, and communications between friendly units and commanders.
The US Navy's first purpose-built airborne early warning aircraft was the E-1 Tracer. The C-1 Trader is a carrier-based cargo plane and the S-2 tracker is a carrier-based anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
In the early years of the Vietnam War, the E-1 was used to support combat air patrols and bombing runs in both North and South Vietnam, as well as warning friendly forces of enemy activity.
The E-1 was only in the Navy for six years before it was replaced by the E-2 Hawkeye, but it was taken out of service in 1977.
The E-2 was an upgrade over the E-1. It became the Navy's electronic eyes after seeing service in Vietnam. It became a vital part of the carrier air wing.
The E-2D is the most modern variant. The Navy received it in 2010 after it was first flown in 2007.
The E 2-D can fly up to 37,000 feet. Two pilots and three naval flight officers are in charge of the electronics on the plane.
According to its manufacturer, the all-weather AN/APY-9 radar can detect both air and surface targets at the same time.
The E-2D has an all-glass cockpit with fully electronic flight instruments that give pilots greater situational awareness while flying.
An advanced Identification Friend or Foe System, a new mission computer and tactical workstations, and modernized communications and data-link suites are some of the other upgraded items.
Modern systems on the E-2D allow naval flight officers to coordinate the operations of multiple air and surface strike groups while being far from the action.
"For 50 years, the E-2 has done something no other aircraft can do, and that's take a very capable radar system to 25,000 feet, hundreds of miles forward from the carrier, and manage the airspace," said Rear Adm.
Missiles, jets, and drones are some of the fast moving targets that E-2Ds are able to track. The first aircraft to take off from a carrier is the E-2Ds.
The most notable upgrade is an aerial refueling probe. The E-2Ds can fly for eight hours. It has been refueled by a crewed tanker aircraft.
More than 50 E-2Ds have been delivered and more than 20 have been ordered. There are 86 aircraft in the Navy's inventory. The ultimate goal of the service is to have 22 E-2Ds operational at any time, and because of the aircraft's importance, the Navy hopes to keep it flying into the 2040s.
The E-2D is going overseas as well. France has ordered three which are expected to be delivered by the year 2027.
Older E-2 models are used by both countries. Japan's E-2Ds will be land based, while France's E-2Ds will be air based.
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