Navy asks Collins Aerospace to move forward with E-2D deployable flight training system for land and at sea

Summary points:

• Collins Aerospace to build and test deployable SPARTA 12 flight training systems for E-2D Hawkeye aircrews.
• SPARTA 12 enables realistic command and control training both at sea and on land during extended deployments.
• Part of a fleetwide push to enhance in-mission simulation and readiness aboard aircraft carriers.

ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Navy flight training experts are asking Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, Iowa, to continue with build and test of a deployable simulator to help E-2D surveillance aircraft crews to train at sea or ashore.

Officials of the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando, Fla., announced a $16 million order in August to the Collins Aerospace Simulation and Training segment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to produce and test the Special Programs Advanced Readiness Trainer Afloat/Ashore (SPARTA) 12 flight training system.

SPARTA 12 is a deployable simulation system for the Navy's E-2D Hawkeye program to enable aircrews to train at sea and on shore in realistic environments that replicate operational conditions.

This order calls for Collins Aerospace to build six SPARTA 12 flight aircraft flight management computer functional equivalent units, update SPARTA 12 equipment, and provide SPARTA Joint Simulation Environment/Global Reusable Interface Domain and program support. Collins Aerospace won the original SPARTA 12 contract in May 2024.

E-2D training at sea and on land

SPARTA 12 meets challenges of training E-2D Hawkeye crews who need sophisticated simulation to maintain proficiency -- especially during extended sea deployments where access to shore-based simulators is limited.

The system emulates complex roles and missions for command and control (C2) training, and works with other aircraft simulators in naval squadrons.

SPARTA 12 is part of a broader “Sims at Sea” initiative to place flight simulators aboard aircraft carriers so E-2D crews can rehearse missions and maintain readiness during deployments. Its adoption is being expanded fleetwide as demand from combat air groups grows for more flexible, realistic, and collaborative in-mission training.

On this order, Collins Aerospace will do the work in Sterling and Norfolk, Va.; Point Mugu, Calif.; and Orlando, Fla., and should be finished by August 2027. For more information contact Collins Aerospace Simulation and Training online at www.collinsaerospace.com/what-we-do/industries/military-and-defense/simulation-and-training.