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Summary:
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the Navy's highest priority aviation modernization program. It is replacing the Navy F/A-18C/D Hornet combat aircraft. The decision to undertake the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program was made during a period of great turbulence in Navy aviation modernization. During this time frame the Navy struggled to identify and implement the best way to modernize its aging fleet of F-14 fighters and A-6E attack aircraft. The A-12 program (a stealthy replacement to the A-6E) was terminated in January 1991. The AFX program, another proposed replacement for the A-6E, began in 1991, but was also terminated. The principal alternative to the F/A-18E/F was a modest upgrade of the F-14 -- a large, two-seat fighter designed in the 1960s, with potential air-to-surface attack capabilities. Some observers describe the F/A-18E/F as an upgraded and larger version of the F/A-18C/D, with increased range and payload capacity and more space and weight for future improvements. Others assert that the differences between the baseline Hornet aircraft and the E/F model are so great that they would describe the Super Hornet as an entirely new aircraft. The Department of Defense is currently facing a shortage of radar and communications jamming capability. The Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowlers escort and protect Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force aircraft operating in hostile airspace. The Prowlers, however, are few and rapidly aging.1 All the Services are evaluating preferred approaches to ameliorating this shortfall. The Navy's approach is to produce a new electronic attack aircraft based on the F/A-18F, called the EA18G. The Navy's FY2009 budget for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G requested a total of $4.3 billion to procure 45 aircraft, modernize existing aircraft, and conduct research and development. The Defense Department's Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) of December 25, 2007, estimated the total acquisition cost of a 493 F/A-18E/Fs-aircraft program at $46.3 billion ($TY). The cost of procuring 85 EA-18G electronic attack variants is estimated at $8.6 billion ($TY). The Super Hornet has been approved for international export, and Australia has agreed to purchase 24 F/A-18E/Fs as a bridge to its purchase of Joint Strike Fighters. Key issues surrounding the program relate to the total number of Super Hornets to be procured.
