Singapore will buy four Gulfstream G550 special mission business
jets, configured for Airborne Early Warning missions. The aircraft
will replace four Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft currently
in service. According to the Singapore MOD, the G550 AEW will be
capable of flying 9 hours missions at an altitude of 41,000ft
(12,500m). Singapore will receive the first aircraft by 2008, and
all four are expected to be operational by 2010. While Singapore
has not released further details about the electronic and radar
suite to be installed in the aircraft, the only system currently
available for this platform is the Israeli PHALCON radar, developed
for four Israel Air Force G550 AEW aircraft known as Eitam, currently being
delivered by IAI/Elta. The first aircraft was handed over by
Gulfstream on September 2006.
http://www.defense-update.com/newscast/0507/news_080507.htm#g550
JDW has reported that the first of five platforms will fly
into Singapore during September 2008.
Soon it will be mid-2008, anyone know with some degree of
certainty when the first of these new AWACs will touch down
into Singapore ?
It seems that the present RSAF Hawkeyes has been
flying reliably for the last 20 years, and will continue
service until these Gulfstreams are operational in 2010.
Meanwhile, the US Navy continue to develop the current AWAC
platform into the Hawkeye 2000 series - with new
electronic suites that allow a new class of carrier based AWACs to
have some features found in the J-Star platforms, enabling these
flying asset to track slow moving ground target.
Its radar system is further enhanced
to also augment the naval Aegis system, by
providing an earlier warning to track hostile missile launches
from land that threaten the Carrier Battle Group.
