U.S. Navy Command Aircraft E-2D Hawkeye Central to Air Operations in Epic Fury Over Iran.

U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft deployed from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln are playing a central role in Operation Epic Fury, serving as the primary airborne command-and-control node over Iran and directing the flow of real-time battlespace data across the mission. Acting as the operation’s airborne nerve center, the aircraft are coordinating U.S. and allied air activity in real time across a contested environment.

This role is critical to the success of Epic Fury, enabling faster threat detection, synchronized decision-making, and precise execution across coalition forces. By managing the operational picture and linking dispersed assets into a single network, the E-2D ensures unity of effort and delivers the decision advantage required to control the airspace and sustain operational momentum.

Read also: U.S. Navy Orders 123 E-2D Hawkeye Intercom Systems in $10M Upgrade for Carrier Air Defense

E-2D Advanced Hawkeye from USS Abraham Lincoln provides real-time airborne command and control during Operation Epic Fury, detecting Iranian missiles and drone swarms at long range while coordinating integrated air and missile defense across U.S. naval and joint forces. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War)

During ongoing Epic Fury operations against Iran in March 2026, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group sustained high-tempo flight operations in the Arabian Sea, with E-2D sorties integrated into every major strike and defensive counter-air cycle. The aircraft ensures continuous airborne battle management in a contested environment where Iranian missile forces, layered air defenses, and drone swarms compress reaction timelines and challenge traditional command structures.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is built around the AN/APY-9 radar, a UHF-band system designed for wide-area surveillance and optimized for detecting low-observable and low-altitude threats. Its 360-degree coverage enables simultaneous tracking of cruise missiles, UAVs, tactical aircraft, and ballistic missile trajectories. Unlike legacy airborne early warning systems, the E-2D integrates Cooperative Engagement Capability, Link-16, and satellite communications into a single architecture, transforming it into a network-centric sensor-fusion node capable of distributing fire-control-quality data across naval and joint forces.

In Operation Epic Fury, this translates into a decisive operational advantage against Iran’s layered threat architecture. Iranian forces rely on the combined employment of ballistic missiles, land attack cruise missiles, and large volumes of unmanned systems launched from dispersed sites. The E-2D extends detection ranges well beyond the horizon of surface radars, enabling early threat identification and allowing Aegis destroyers, carrier-based fighters, and ground-based air defense systems to engage threats in depth rather than at the last line of defense.

Within Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye plays a critical role in achieving air superiority in contested environments such as Iran. This airborne early warning and command-and-control aircraft provides real-time situational awareness and long-range threat detection.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft’s command and control function goes beyond surveillance, acting as an airborne tactical operations center. From operating altitudes typically above 9,000 m (around 30,000 ft), E-2D crews manage the air battle in real time, assigning intercept missions, coordinating strike packages, and ensuring deconfliction between F-35C, F/A-18E/F, and EA-18G aircraft. This elevated vantage point significantly extends the radar horizon, enabling detection of low-flying threats at distances exceeding 400 km, depending on the target profile and environmental conditions.

A key capability of the E-2D in Epic Fury is its contribution to integrated air and missile defense through sensor-to-shooter networking. By transmitting fire control quality tracks via Cooperative Engagement Capability, the aircraft enables naval and joint systems to engage targets beyond their organic sensor range. This creates a distributed engagement grid in which detection, tracking, and interception are no longer platform-dependent, significantly increasing the survivability of high-value assets such as the USS Abraham Lincoln and its escorts.

From a technical standpoint, the AN/APY-9 radar provides persistent coverage across the full altitude spectrum of the battlespace. It can detect and track targets flying at very low altitude, including sea-skimming cruise missiles and terrain-masking drones operating at altitudes below 50 m, while simultaneously maintaining tracks on high-altitude aircraft and missile threats above 9,000 m and into ballistic trajectories outside the atmosphere. Detection ranges can exceed 550 km against larger airborne targets, while maintaining engagement-quality tracking at shorter distances against smaller, low-observable threats.

The system is specifically optimized to handle dense and complex target environments. It can manage thousands of simultaneous tracks, including fast jets, helicopters, supersonic and subsonic cruise missiles, ballistic missile arcs, and small unmanned aerial systems. Its ability to detect slow-moving, low-radar-cross-section targets is critical against modern threats such as loitering munitions and one-way attack drones designed to evade conventional radar coverage.

The E-2D’s mission system architecture supports advanced electronic support measures and passive detection, allowing it to identify and geolocate hostile emitters without continuous radar emission. This capability enhances survivability in contested electromagnetic environments and contributes to the broader intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance picture required for dynamic targeting and electronic warfare operations.

Countering unmanned aerial systems has emerged as a central mission for the E-2D in operations like Epic Fury. Iranian forces increasingly deploy coordinated drone swarms combining reconnaissance platforms, decoys, and strike UAVs to saturate defenses. The E-2D’s radar and processing suite can detect, classify, and track large numbers of small drones simultaneously, even when operating at low altitude and low speed in cluttered environments.

Once threats are identified, the E-2D acts as the central coordinator for counter-UAS operations. It cues fighter aircraft for interception, directs naval air defense systems for layered engagements, and integrates electronic attack effects from EA-18G Growlers to disrupt drone control links and navigation systems. This coordinated approach prevents defensive saturation and ensures efficient allocation of interceptors against the most critical threats.

The increasing reliance on the E-2D also reflects a structural evolution in U.S. joint operations. Due to limited availability of legacy E-3 Sentry aircraft, the Navy’s Hawkeye fleet is assuming expanded theater-level command and control responsibilities. In Epic Fury, this includes supporting joint and coalition air operations, integrating with land-based missile defense systems, and contributing to a broader Joint All-Domain Command and Control architecture that links sensors and shooters across all domains.

Operationally, the E-2D compresses the decision cycle by reducing the time between detection and engagement. Its ability to fuse multiple sources of data and distribute a coherent tactical picture enables commanders to respond faster than adversary attack timelines, a decisive factor against coordinated missile and drone strikes.

Strategically, the aircraft directly undermines Iran’s reliance on surprise, saturation, and low altitude penetration. By extending detection depth, enabling distributed engagements, and maintaining continuous airborne command presence, the E-2D ensures the survivability of carrier strike groups and preserves U.S. power projection capabilities in contested regions.

In this operational framework, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is not a generic support platform but a high-value combat enabler that defines the tempo and structure of the air battle, ensuring information dominance and coordinated multi-domain effects in one of the most demanding threat environments faced by U.S. forces today.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.