Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet

The history of the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet

The United States Navy's (USN) McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet family of carrier-based fighter jets, introduced in 1983, proved to be a major successful replacement for fighter jets and strike platforms during the Vietnam War. Single-seat and two-seater variants were created, and variants were also improved shortly after. However, the system is not without its limitations, as its common criticism is limited operational range and limited ammunition carrying capacity.

This led to the evolution of the brand into the final F/A-18 "Super Hornet" series, a model sufficiently different from the original to be considered an all-new and unique multi-role aircraft. The famous designation "F/A-18" was retained to make the product widely known in American bureaucratic circles.

The origins of the Super Hornet began in the 1980s as a design study by McDonnell Douglas for an improved F/A-18, even before the original Hornet was in service. The product gained considerable momentum when the U.S. Navy lost another McDonnell Douglas product, the A-12 Avenger II, a Triangular carrier-based stealth bomber. officially resolved in 2014).

Additionally, the expensive and complex Grumman F-14 Tomcat was primarily used for fleet defense and acquired ground attack capability later in its service life. The new McDonnell Douglas program took the existing F/A-18 fuselage and lengthened its main-wing aircraft, while lengthening the fuselage for increased internal fuel storage and more advanced flight and combat systems.

The original design's nine hardpoints have now been increased to a new 11, while retaining the original design's wingtip rail launchers and under-fuselage locations. Overall, the shape of the F/A-18 Super Hornet mimics many of the established lines of the original McDonnell Douglas product, but in a larger, heavier and more advanced package.

A key physical feature of the Super Hornet is the redesigned air intakes, which are rectangular compared to the original oval openings.

Convinced of the merits of this more advanced, budget-friendly "off-the-shelf solution," the U.S. Navy commissioned the development and eventual mass production of the Super Hornet in 1992, with the approval of the U.S. Congress. The first flight of the prototype took place on November 29, 1995, followed by serial production in 1995, and testing continued until 1997.

That year, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing completed a merger, with Boeing at the helm while keeping McDonnell Douglas as a subsidiary. As a result, the Boeing brand label is now commonly associated with Super Hornet products. The F/A-18E/F entered service in 1999.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet runs U.S. today alongside the original single-seat and two-seat F/A-18 Hornet - A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair, A-6 Raider - Long gone are the Navy aircraft carriers, the F-4 Phantom II and the F-14 Tomcat, and as a multirole fighter, the Super Hornet fulfilled a myriad of combat roles, including all-weather day and night strikes, fleet defense, air defense suppression, interception, Reconnaissance, Close Support (CAS) and Precision Strike. In addition, the Super Hornet replaces special mission aircraft such as the S-3 Viking and EA-6B Prowler. The Super Hornet - like the Hornet before it - comes in two different appearances - the F/A-18E variant is a single-seat variant, while the F/A-18F has a crew of two.

The "Block II" program adds an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar suite, a helmet-mounted targeting system and an improved cockpit dashboard to encourage wider, more modern utility on the battlefield.

There are currently only two operators of Super Hornet - the US Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The Australian mount entered service in 2010, replacing an outdated stockpile of Cold War-era General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark long-range fighter jets.

To date (2014), about 500 Super Hornets have been built for both parties, although Boeing plans to shut down the production line sometime in 2014.

The Boeing EA-18G Growler series is a special mission variant associated with the Super Hornet for the Electronic Warfare Aircraft (EWA) role. It is based on the two-seat F/A-18F model and entered service in 2009 as the successor to the four-seat Northrop Grumman EA-6B "Prowler" series based on the Vietnam War-era A- 6 "Invaders" strike platforms. The Advanced Super Hornet is another (Boeing) program to get future customers of the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II interested in a fourth-generation fifth-generation advanced fighter that helps bridge the gap between the current There are fourth-generation service types and a near new - albeit delayed and expensive - F-35.

It has been in development since 2014.

When complete, the F/A-18E/F model is powered by 2 General Electric F414-GE-400 series turbofan engines. This provides up to 13,000 pounds of thrust per engine when dry and up to 22,000 pounds of thrust per engine when afterburners are engaged.

It has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph) and a range of 1,275 nautical miles. The ferry has a range of 1,800 nautical miles and a combat radius of nearly 390 nautical miles. The aircraft has a service ceiling of about 50,000 feet and a reported climb rate of 44,890 feet per minute.

Standard armament is a 20mm M61A2 Vulcan Gatling cannon carrying 578 20mm projectiles for close range work. Eleven hardpoints allow for mixed ammo carrying capacities. Wingtip launches are usually reserved for 2 x AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range missiles.

Six attachment points under the wings can carry missiles, bombs, missile pods and jettisonable fuel tanks as needed. Three attachment points under the hull are also available. The combined capacity of all 11 mount points is 17,750 pounds of external storage. The aircraft also supports AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and AGM-65 Maverick missiles, as well as AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles.

Both precision-guided and conventionally thrown munitions were cleared. The Super Hornet carries the original Hughes APG-73 radar kit or the more advanced Thor APG-79 (AESA) series radar kit.

It is also equipped with the BAe Systems Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) system, Northrop Grumman jamming pod, ALR-67 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), and can pull either ALE-50 or ALE-55 decoys for added defense.

To date, Super Hornet has been stationed over Iraq to protect the northern and southern "no-fly zones" from the 2003 US-led invasion, flying air defense and strike missions of the 2003 invasion force. External fuel loading and delivery allowed the Super Hornet to refuel Allied aircraft even during the campaign. After the U.S.-led invasion of Taliban forces in 2001, her combat duties then expanded to ongoing operations in Afghanistan. Since then, Super Hornet has been directly involved in airstrikes against ISIS forces in Syria and Iraq during the September-October 2014 campaign to slow their advance in the region. Australia's Super Hornets have not been idle themselves - they have also recently been involved in anti-ISIS operations.

Due to Australia's lack of aircraft carriers, the RAAF Super Hornet is a land-based system.

Specification

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Performance

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Changes