while the us navy has slightly reduced super hornet

BOEING HAS UNVEILED the Block III Super Hornet for the US Navy. It officially rolled out the first two-seat F/A-18F in the new configuration at its production facility in St

Louis, Missouri, on May 8. The airframe in question is build number F287. It is one of two test aircraft that will be used to evaluate the additional features of the Block III Super Hornet, including 10 x 19in large-area cockpit displays and an airframe life extended from the previous 6,000 to ‘9,000-plus’ flight hours. Notably, the aircraft emerged from the factory without the new conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) fitted, which will add

3,500lb (1,588kg) of fuel to increase the strike fighter’s range by 100-120nm (185-222km).

Block III includes stealthy features such as different paint, an enhanced network designed to improve computing power (DTP-N) and sensor/platform integration, allowing large amounts of data to flow in and out of the aircraft. It also brings about an improved ability to receive and transmit targeting information via the Tactical Targeting Networking Technology (TTNT) system.

Although it sits outside of Block III, the new Lockheed Martin AN/ASG-34 infrared search and track (IRST) pod is timed to coincide with the new variant,

although this system has already been fielded by some fleet squadrons.

Jennifer Splaingard, Boeing F/A-18 program development manager, said of the new large-area display, ‘It’s going into Kuwait [aircraft, and] it fits in the Block III flight plan in that it’s going into the first Block III test jet and the full-up Block III jet. This large-area display and the low profile HUD [head-up display] really changes the way that the pilot interfaces with the aircraft.’

Boeing chief test pilot Steve ‘Bull’ Schmidt added, ‘To me as a pilot, just the extra display space [means] that I can see all my displays both front and back. The workload really goes down for the aircrew.’

While the US Navy has slightly reduced Super Hornet procurement, the type is taking a major step ahead with the Block III variant now entering testing.

REPORT Jamie Hunter

Fleet future — an artist’s rendition of Block III Super Hornets with conformal fuel tanks and the infrared search-and-track. Boeing

30 July 2020 // www.Key.Aero

30-35 What next Super Hornet C.indd 3030-35 What next Super Hornet C.indd 30 20/05/2020 15:5720/05/2020 15:57

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The journey to Block IIIThe first Block III aircraft follows on from 322 single-seat F/A-18Es and 286 two-seat F/A-18Fs that have been delivered to the US Navy in Block II configuration. The final Block II jet (F/A-18E E322) was delivered to the navy on April 17, 2020, and has joined VFA-34 ‘Blue Blasters’ at NAS Oceana, Virginia.

Affectionately known as the ‘Rhino’, Super Hornets were built in Block

I configuration from 1997. Boeing delivered 147 Block I Super Hornets — comprising 64 F/A-18Es and 83 F/A-18Fs (including 10 flight/ground test articles) — before deliveries of improved Block II variants began in October 2002. A key enhancement for the Block II was provision for the Raytheon AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, as well as new cockpit displays, and increased range.

SLM SUPER HORNET RETURNED TO SERVICEThe first Super Hornet to receive service life modifications (SLM) was delivered to strike fighter squadron VFA-106 ‘Gladiators’ at NAS Oceana, Virginia, on January 21, 2020. It had entered SLM in April 2018. Carried out at Boeing’s St Louis, Missouri, facility, the SLM program extends the service life of each Block I Super Hornet from 6,000 to 7,500 flight hours. Block II Super Hornet service lives will be further extended to 10,000 hours beginning in late 2022, and the aircraft will be upgraded to Block III configuration. These will then complement new-build Block IIIs. CAPT Stephen May, PMA-265 co-lead for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G, said, ‘SLM is going to provide a critical resource for the navy to recapitalize on long-serving aircraft to return them to the fleet in a near-new condition.’

Boeing is under contract to carry out the SLMs on 22 Super Hornets, but the program is expected to run through 2033 or beyond. A full feature on SLM starts on page 36.

Above: The first Block III Super Hornet is rolled out of the factory in St Louis on May 8. Boeing

Below: Testing of features for the Block III such as the conformal fuel tanks dates back to 2013. Boeing/Kevin Flynn

SUPER HORNET // BLOCK III SUPER HORNET

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Block III is designed to take the Super Hornet a step further and extend its service life to 2040, keeping the strike fighter credible to meet future threats and better able to complement the F-35C Lightning II. Notably absent from the Block III plan, though, are the new F414-GE-400 Enhanced Performance Engines (EPE), which offer decreased fuel burn rates and up to 20 per cent more thrust, and have been pitched frequently by Boeing and General Electric.

The US Navy awarded a multi-year procurement contract to Boeing for Block III Super Hornets in March 2019, totaling approximately $4 billion. The multi-year buy enabled more efficient production rates via long-lead parts acquisition and improved project stability.

However, the navy has recently trimmed Super Hornet production as it refocuses on its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. It still plans to buy 78 new-build Block IIIs between Fiscal Years (FYs) 2019 and 2021, which will now be the final year of

Super Hornet procurement. Production had been planned to run through FY 2024, and the navy’s previous Future Years Defense Program included the purchase of 36 additional Super Hornets from FY 2022 through FY 2024.

In addition to the new-build aircraft, Boeing will begin updating at least 313 existing Block II aircraft to Block III

standard as they pass through its two service life modification (SLM) lines from late 2022. According to Justin Gibson, the Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18G communications office spokesman, that figure will likely increase to more than 400 aircraft through the mid-2030s with an ambition for all Block IIs to be upgraded to Block III configuration.

Above right: The new large-area display has been extensively tested in the simulators. Boeing

Below: Boeing is offering the Block III Super Hornet to Canada. Boeing Canada



Keeping the ‘Rhino’ relevantTiming of the announcement that the navy was reducing Super Hornet production by two years did little to help Boeing’s e� orts to sell the strike � ghter in Canada and Finland. It is also targeting India’s requirement for a new carrier-based � ghter. Both Canada and Finland have openly stated that they require a new � ghter aircraft that will remain credible past 2050. However, Boeing points to the fact that Block III is only now reaching � ight-test and that these enhanced jets will remain in � eet service well past 2040. Indeed, news that Germany wants to purchase 30 Super Hornets to partially replace its Tornados has come as a massive boost to Boeing.

CAPT Jason Denney, manager of the F/A-18 and EA-18 program o� ce (PMA-265), said in April, ‘Delivery of [the] last production Block II Super Hornet

is hardly the end of an era, but rather a stepping stone along the path to continuously evolving our platforms to meet the navy’s ever-evolving needs.

‘Block III delivery is just steps behind and the production lines won’t miss a beat, with the � rst two US Navy Block III test jets delivering in the next two months [by the end of May], followed by delivery of 24 E/F aircraft over the next year for our international customer, Kuwait.’

The Block III aircraft may o� er enough to persuade new customers that it is the best � t for their needs. Further endorsing the Super Hornet, Denney added, ‘The solid partnership with Boeing for Block III production and modi� cation programs ensures the Super Hornet will remain not only relevant, but ready to � ght in today’s dynamic global environment and well into the future.’

This VX-9 ‘Vampires’ F/A-18F is carrying the new infrared search-and-track pod as its crew undertakes operational evaluation in 2019. Jamie Hunter

34 July 2020 // www.Key.Aero

SUPER HORNET // BLOCK III SUPER HORNET


US NAVY PROGRESSES NEW CAPABILITIES FOR GROWLERThe US Navy is moving forward with plans to develop a new version of the EA-18G Growler, dubbed the Block II. The service released a sources-sought notice on January 28, 2019, seeking contractors to support system development and integration. However, the program will very likely be carried out by Boeing as prime contractor for the Growler. The integration program will provide the type with a new electronic attack unit, upgraded AN/ALQ-218(v)4 radio frequency receiver system and improved AN/ALQ-227(v)2 communication

countermeasures set. The upgrades will be in addition to the new features already funded for the Block III F/A-18E/F.

Under a separate program, the Growler will receive the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-band (NGJ-MB), which is under development by Raytheon. It will achieve early operational capability (EOC) on the EA-18G by Fiscal Year 2022. A low-band version will follow two years later.

The navy is taking an extremely pro-active stance when it comes to the Growler. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division and Boeing recently demonstrated a capability for the EA-18G to act as a controller for autonomous unmanned air vehicles. Test unit VX-23 flew a pair of EA-18Gs that simulated unmanned air systems, controlled from a third Growler. In a series of four flights that began in September 2019, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division demonstrated 21 missions. The sorties were intended to demonstrate the use

of the EA-18G as a mission-controlling platform for autonomous unmanned aircraft.

In preparation for the evaluations, three Growlers were modified to support an open-architecture processor and advanced networking. Incorporation of the Distributed Targeting Processor — Networked (DTP-N) and the Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) radio transformed two of the jets into UAS surrogate aircraft. Take-offs and landings were conducted by pilots aboard the aircraft, but the Growlers subsequently flew in multiple planned formations and transmitted air-to-air sensor data back to the ‘manned’ aircraft. Conducted from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, under the annual fleet experimentation (FLEX) program, the manned/unmanned teaming demonstration validated the effectiveness of operating F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs to perform combat missions in conjunction with unmanned systems. Tom Kaminski

The solid partnership with Boeing for Block III production and modification programs ensures the

Super Hornet will remain not only relevant, but ready to fight in today’s dynamic global environment and well into the futureCAPT Jason Denney



while the us navy has slightly reduced super hornet

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