France will procure an updated variant of Northrop Grumman's (NYSE: NOC) airborne command and control aircraft platform from the U.S. Navy for approximately $2B after two countries signed into a letter of offer and acceptance.
The French navy will be the second foreign buyer of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and will replace the service's three E-2C Hawkeye units through the government-to-government procurement effort, Naval Air Systems Command said Tuesday.
Northrop said Wednesday it expects to receive the production contract in 2022 and aims to deliver the carrier-based planes to France by 2028.
The sale includes the procurement of spares and support equipment along with nonrecurring engineering, training and follow-on support services, Northrop added.
The E-2D platform is designed to have aerial refueling systems and an APY-9 early warning radar technology that works to help pilots detect cruise missile and aircraft threats across littoral, ocean and overland areas.
NAVSEA noted that Japan was the first international customer of Advanced Hawkeye and has bought 13 units from the U.S government to date.
