..:: India Strategic ::.. Military Aviation: F 18 Super Hornet Staying Out in Front

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Editorial

F 18 Super Hornet Staying Out in Front

By Chris Chadwick

Published : September 2008

St Louis. In the movie industry, it’s called a sleeper – a film that doesn’t seem to grab much publicity initially but turns out to be great film.

The Super Hornet could be considered a sleeper of the aerospace industry. Through its gradual spiral development, the F/A-18E/F has quietly become a devastating force for the United States and its allies. It offers real and immediate capabilities for today’s forces, and the program team ensures that it’s keenly in tune with forthcoming war.ghting needs.

The Super Hornet is the most capable weapons system in the air today and for the foreseeable future. And we are continually adding new capability and upgrading or refining systems so that our customer doesn’t have to wait for something to become available.

Boeing is currently building Super Hornets under a contract with the US Navy, and in May 2007, Australia signed a contract for 24 of the jets.

The Super Hornet will remain in the US inventory well beyond the year 2030, thereby assuring India of a supportable, upgradeable program with minimal risk. have to wait for something to become available.

Boeing is currently building Super Hornets under a contract with the US Navy, and in May 2007, Australia signed a contract for 24 of the jets.

The Super Hornet will remain in the US inventory well beyond the year 2030, thereby assuring India of a supportable, upgradeable program with minimal risk.

From the beginning, the Super Hornet program de.ed conventional aircraft design, which dictated that upgrades be incorporated in “blocks” – adding several capabilities at once.

While the Super Hornet divides its aircraft into blocks for planning purposes, each engineering change is incorporated into aircraft in the assembly process as soon as a new single capability is ready.

From the beginning, the Super Hornet program de.ed conventional aircraft design, which dictated that upgrades be incorporated in “blocks” – adding several capabilities at once.

New capabilities are retroffited, as available, on earlier models. As a result, the customer always has the most capable aircraft in its squadrons, be it on an airbase or a ight deck.

Boeing currently is delivering Block Super Hornets, with new systems and upgrades that have been added incrementally over the past two years.

Although the Super Hornet team has been increasing the aircraft’s capabilities, it’s also strongly focused on decreasing the aircraft’s unit cost.

We have generated almost 2 billion in savings to the US government through our first two multi-year procurements. We are prepared to drive the cost down even further and are committed to continually providing the new systems the customer wants and needs at the lowest possible cost.

SYSTEMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornets flying today are already equipped with many next-generation technologies and capabilities. The new systems aren’t usually visible to the casual observer, but they make significant differences to the men and women who fly – and fight – in these jets.

One of the newest advances is the plane’s advanced sensors and radar, the APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, provided by F/A-18 program teammate Raytheon.

AESA expands the Super Hornet’s lethality to beyond the range of weapons or platforms that might be threat against it.

Many of the advanced technologies that are operational on the Super Hornet today, such as the AESA radar, are only long-term, developmental promises being made by many other aircraft manufacturers.

The Super Hornet also boasts an advanced targeting pod, known as the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR), for exceptional air-to-ground performance, as well as a Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for enhanced aircrew situational awareness and combat lethality.

With a total of 11 weapon stations, the Super Hornet also provides extraordinary payload flexibility by carrying a meaningful load of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance. A typical loadout for a self-escort strike mission includes the advanced targeting pod, one AIM-120 AMRAAM, and two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

This leaves seven weapon stations available to carry a variety of weapons and other stores.

These are just a few of more than a dozen major systems, upgrades and re.nements Boeing and its industry partners have added to the aircraft since it was first introduced. The Super Hornets made today are way beyond the capabilities of the earlier versions.

As important as these capabilities are today, the Super Hornet has never rested on its laurels.

The team – a best-of-industry teaming of the US Navy, Boeing, and its major subcontractors, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Electric – has a “Flight Plan” in place that defines what’s next for the Super Hornet.

That includes distributed targeting; net-centric operations and battlespace management; sensor integration; and advanced weapons.

The Super Hornet is continually evolving to meet customers’ needs. People talk about aircraft generations. We think those lines are blurred; we think of the Super Hornet as Next Generation because it’s continually evolving to stay ahead of the threat.

Our mission from day one has been to provide today what our customers will need tomorrow. And we’ve made that mission a reality.”

The author is President of Boeing Military Aircraft, which includes Global Strike; Global Mobility; Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; and Rotorcraft for all military services worldwide.