F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Super Hornet was originally
developed under the Hornet
2000 program and rst ew in
November 1995. The aircraft
is signi cantly larger than its
predecessor and carries 33 per
cent more fuel internally, which
increases its endurance by 50 per
cent and mission range by 41 per
cent. Its carrier recovery payload
is more than 9,000lb (4,082kg),
which allows the ghter to bring
back costly, unexpended weapons
to the deck of the carrier.
Delivery of single-seat F/A-18Es
and two-seat F/A-18Fs to eet
replacement squadron (FRS)
VFA-122 at NAS Lemoore,
California, began in September
1999 and initial operational
capability was achieved in- The Super Hornet’s rst
deployment began in July 2002
and it entered combat with
VFA-115, which conducted strikes
in Afghanistan in support of
Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ in
November 2002. A VFA-87 Super
Hornet scored the ghter’s rst
aerial kill against a Syrian Air Force
Su-22 on June 18, 2017.
The Super Hornet is equipped
with seven stations under the
wing and centerline along with
the wingtips, enabling it to carry
the same types of weapons as the
earlier Hornet variants. It retains
a nose-mounted internal 20mm
M61 rotary cannon.
Additional weapons planned
for the Super Hornet comprise
the GBU-53 Small Diameter
Bomb Increment II (SDB II), the
AGM-158C Long Range Strike
Missile (LRSM) and Advanced
Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-
Extended Range (AARGM-ER). The
latter two weapons will be elded
in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
The Super Hornet is capable of
carrying an A/A42R-5 air refueling
store and features ve ‘wet’
stations that allow it to serve as a
tanker aircraft.
Boeing delivered 64 Block I
F/A-18Es and 83 Block I F/A-18Fs
before the switch to Block II took
place. The Block I versions used
the AN/APG-73 radar but the
Block II’s redesigned nose section
accommodated the AN/APG-79
active electronically scanned array(AESA) radar and an advanced
crew station. The AESA radar was
installed from the 136th Block
II variant and was retro tted to
earlier aircraft.
In addition to the Joint Helmet-
Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS),
the Super Hornet is equipped
with the Distributed Target
System (DTS), which automatically
transmits and receives targeting
information to and from other
platforms and ground receivers
over the Link 16 network and the
AN/ALQ-214 integrated defensive
electronic countermeasures
(IDECM) System. It can also carry
the AN/ASQ-228 Advanced
Targeting Forward-Looking
Infra-Red (ATFLIR) for strike,
reconnaissance, and surveillance
missions. Incorporation of an
infra-red search and track (IRST)
sensor that will enable the ghter
to detect aerial targets passively
at long ranges is also under way.
The AN/ASG-34 is initially being
installed in the front end of the
Super Hornet’s FPU-13 fuel tank
assembly. The design is considered
an interim solution until amore permanent installation is
incorporated as part of the Block
III upgrades.
Boeing has delivered more
than 570 Super Hornets and the
inventory included 284 F/A-18E
and 257 F/A-18F models in
December 2017. A service life
modernization (SLM) program
that commenced in April 2018 will
extend the Super Hornet’s service
life from 6,000 to 9,000-plus hours,
ensuring the ghter can remain
in service through 2035. The
contractor will initially upgrade
four Super Hornets at its St Louis,
Missouri, facility but plans call for a
production line to be set up in San
Antonio, Texas in 2019.
Although the navy’s program
of record included 584 Super
Hornets, the service now plans
to continue procurement. In
fact, the future year defense plan
(FYDP) that runs from Fiscal 2019
to 2023 includes the purchase of
110 Block III Super Hornets and
total procurement now totals
706 aircraft. The 2018 defense
authorization provided funding
for 24 additional Super HornetsAn F/A-18F of VFA-213 ‘Black
Lions’. Jamie HunterUS NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIR POWER YEARBOOK 2018
(^74) AIR POWER REVIEW
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