This image:
RADM Michael
T. Moran says
the recent
strike fi ghter
shortfall has
increased the
risk of not being
able to support
this national
mission and
that Boeing’s
efforts through
new production
and SLM aircraft
were critical
to solve this.
Boeing
Below left to
right: Super
Hornet crews
will benefi t from
vastly improved
situational
awareness
with the new
upgrades.
Jamie Hunter
Wear and tear
on the carrier
deck is not to be
underestimated.
The navy has
used its Super
Hornets harder
and faster
than originally
envisaged. US
Navy/MCS3C
Alex Corona
Right: The navy
expects to start
fi elding Block
III-upgraded
Super Hornets
in 2022.
Jamie Hunter
fully expect we are going to extend the
life of the Growler and it will follow suit
down the road. We haven’t made that
investment yet, but we are beginning
those discussions as we have to get out
ahead of that power curve.’
The navy’s roughly 540 Super Hornets
equates to each carrier air wing (CVW)
having three squadrons of single-seat
F/A-18Es and a single two-seat F/A-18F
unit. Once the F-35C joins the eet, plans
call for three Super Hornet squadrons.
Boeing says the navy expects to begin
using the Block III Super Hornets
operationally in 2022 and hopes to have
the equivalent of one squadron per
air wing by 2024. The navy’s goal is to
have two Block III squadrons in every air
wing by 2027.
For a company that only three years
ago expressed serious concerns that the
Super Hornet line would close, Boeing
has enjoyed nothing but good news of
late when it comes to the type. The SLM
program, coupled with navy plans for
as many as 110 new Super Hornets, hasensured that the company will not only
keep its production line open through
the mid-2020s, but will add two new
SLM lines.
Boeing anticipates delivery of new-
production Block III aircraft at the end
of 2020. It also has high hopes for more
foreign sales. As many as nine countries
have expressed interest in some variant
of the Super Hornet. Of these, Finland,
Germany, Japan, and Poland have
expressed interest in the Growler. Most
recently, Boeing nalized a deal with
Kuwait for the sale of 22 F/A-18Es and
six F/A-18Fs.
The net result is a Block III Super Hornet
able to serve on US carrier decks for at
least another 15 years, and probably
much more. As Moran asserts, ‘We need
that capability because we need to
engage the enemy and the threat and we
don’t own the skies as easy as we did 10
years ago. The threat is evolving. We need
to advance the capabilities of the aircraft
as well, and that’s why this is so unique
and so important.’51