"Bluetails take care of Bluetails!"
- One of two nicknames for VAW-121

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed specifically for its role, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the Boeing E-3 Sentry. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft.

The E-2 also received the nickname "Super Fudd" because it replaced the E-1 Tracer "Willy Fudd". In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the "Hummer" because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USN Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft that was attached to VAW-124 "Bear Aces", then embarked upon the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) during 1991. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 13-1/2-inches
Length: 9-3/4-inches

Release Date: October 2023

Historical Account: "Bear Aces" - Airborne Command and Control Squadron 124 (VAW-124) "Bear Aces" is a United States Navy airborne early warning and control squadron based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia (USA). It flies the Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye and is currently attached to Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW-8).

On January 21st, 1991, CVW-8 launched its first major strike of Operation Desert Storm with the squadron providing AEW, command and control, and search and rescue coordination. When the cease-fire went into effect on February 28th, the squadron had flown a total of 331 combat sorties and over 1150 combat hours in support of 1220 strikes against 531 targets in the Kuwait Theater of Operations, the most combat hours and combat sorties of any E-2C squadron, over 750 of the combat hours were flown in a single thirty-day period. After transiting the Suez Canal on April 20th, USS Theodore Roosevelt assumed station northeast of Cyprus between Turkey and Syria to lead a multi-national Operation Provide Comfort. On June 26th, 1991, the squadron returned to its home port. In August, VAW-124 was awarded the 1991 AEW Excellence Award by VADM Anthony Less, Commander, U.S. Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet. This award is given annually to the finest E-2C squadron in the Navy.

In April 1999, VAW-124 departed Norfolk on a combat deployment aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. The squadron flew combat missions during Operation Allied Force against targets in Kosovo. Transiting to the Persian Gulf, the squadron completed the deployment enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq in Operation Southern Watch.