An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, attached to the "Seahawks" of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 126, lands on the flight deck of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Aug. 17.

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, MD.: The E-2/C-2 Airborne Command & Control Systems Program Office (PMA-231) awarded a $16 million contract to Fuse Integration on Aug. 26 for the production of Fuse CORE 4.0 virtualized network systems for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

CORE updates the E-2D's external networking systems to a modern, software-based network as part of the E-2D's Delta System Software Configuration (DSSC)-5 build.

"As an advanced, small-Size, Weight, and Power - Cooling (SWaP-C) router, CORE 4.0 improves reliability and maintainability for the platform by replacing bulky and obsolete routers while simultaneously hosting applications that enhance E-2D mission capabilities," said Shawn Thompson, PMA-231 E-2D Advanced Development Assistant Program Manager for Systems Engineering.

The CORE configuration employs the Fuse Tactical Edge Network Targeting in a Contested Long-range Environment (TENTaCLE) architecture to support network resiliency on the E-2D.

"CORE 4.0 will help the E-2D quickly adapt to evolving network architectures as well as provide a means for rapid deployment of new tactical applications," Thompson said. "CORE 4.0 enables an additional layer of cyber-security for the platform by hosting new firewall applications as part of the Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) upgrade program for the E-2D."

As part of the continuous upgrade builds for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, DSSC 5 is designed to deliver improved sensor and data management through upgrades in security and battle management tools.