F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| F/A-18E/F Super Hornet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| US Navy F/A-18F from VFA-2 Bounty Hunters | |
| Type | Multirole fighter |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas/Boeing |
| Maiden flight | November 29 1995 |
| Introduced | 1999 |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Unit cost | US$57 million (F/A-18E) in 2003 US$59 million (F/A-18F) in 2003 |
| Developed from | F/A-18 Hornet |
| Variants | EA-18 Growler |
The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a carrier-based fighter/attack aircraft that entered service in the 1990s with the United States Navy. It is a larger and more advanced development of the F/A-18C/D Hornet.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The Super Hornet is a growth variant on the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The Super Hornet was ordered from McDonnell Douglas in 1992, first flew in November 1995, made its first carrier landing in 1997 and entered service in 1999. Current versions include the F/A-18E single-seater and F/A-18F two-seater.
Despite the same general layout and systems, there are enough differences from the original F/A-18 Hornet that many judge the Super Hornet to be an essentially new aircraft. Inspired by the IR sensor atop the nose, the fighter is colloquially referred to as the "Rhino" (to distinguish it from earlier model "legacy" Hornets).
Currently, the Navy's F-14 squadrons have converted to the Super Hornet, which is also taking on the missions of the retired A-6 Intruder, S-3 Viking, and KA-6D. An electronic warfare variant, the EA-18G Growler, will replace the aging EA-6B Prowler. The Navy calls this reduction in aircraft types a "neck-down". In Vietnam, the Super Hornet type missions were covered by no less than the A-4, A-6, A-7, F-4, RA-5C, KA-3, KA-6, EA-6, F-8 and A-1. It is anticipated that $1 billion in fleetwide annual savings will result from replacing other types with the Super Hornet. Only the turboprop and rotor-wing aircraft roles will not be covered by the Hornet.
The Navy retained the F/A-18 designation to sell the program to Congress as a low-risk "derivative", though the Super Hornet is essentially a new aircraft with little more than an aerodynamic resemblance with previous Hornets.<ref name="Jenkins">Jenkins, Dennis R. (2000). F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-134696.</ref>
The early 1990s brought a number of problems for US naval aviation. The A-12 Avenger II program, intended to replace the obsolete A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsair IIs, had run into serious problems and was cancelled. The Gulf War revealed that the Navy's strike capability lagged that of the Air Force in certain respects. With no clean-sheet program likely to produce results before about 2020, updating an existing design became an attractive approach. As an alternative to the A-12, McDonnell Douglas proposed the "Super Hornet" (or, originally, "Hornet II"), originally put forward in the 1980s to improve early F/A-18 models, and serve as an alternate replacement for the A-6 Intruder which has a greater range / payload than the A-7 Corsair that the original Hornet was designed to replace. At the same time, the Navy needed a replacement fleet defense fighter to replace the aging F-14 Tomcat and the canceled NATF (a proposed navalized variant of the F-22 Raptor). The Navy would also direct that this plane replace the aging F-14D Tomcat, essentially basing all naval combat jets on Hornet variants.<ref>F-18E intended to replace A-6 and F-14D: Young, James A., Anderson, Ronald D., Yurkovich, Rudolph N., AIAA-98-4701, “A Description of the F/A-18E/F Design and Design Process,” 7th AIAA/USAF/NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, St. Louis, Missouri, 2-4 September 1998.</ref>
[edit] Design
[edit] Evolution
The design of the Super Hornet may have gone through a more extensive evolution than any other combat aircraft. The F-5 Freedom Fighter donated its basic wing planform, enlarged wing root extensions, and nose as the starting point for the Northrop YF-17 Cobra lightweight fighter.<ref>Aviation Week article on YF-17 design, 1974 Seattle Public Library</ref> The YF-17 was then sized up to produce the middle-weight F/A-18 multirole fighter, which roughly matched the Phantom in range/payload and missile armament. The Super Hornet is about 20% larger, 7,000 lb heavier empty, and 15,000 lb heavier at maximum weight than the original Hornet. Although the original YF-17 was about the same weight as the small F-5, the Super Hornet carries 10% more fuel and weighs 8% more empty than the original F-15C, which has itself been criticized for its large size. The Super Hornet is about 10,000 lb lighter than the F-14 Tomcat that was judged too expensive and large for a low-cost fighter, and even heavier than the original naval TFX specification that helped down the F-111B.
[edit] Airframe changes
The wing, center and aft fuselage, tail surfaces and powerplants are entirely new. The Super Hornet has a 25% larger wing that allows the aircraft to return to an aircraft carrier with a larger load of unspent munitions. This had become important with the greater use of more expensive, precision-guided weapons and a growing consciousness about avoiding collateral damage. The fuselage was stretched to carry more fuel and room for future avionics upgrades. An engine with 35% more power, the General Electric F414, was developed to power this larger, heavier aircraft. The aircraft can carry five 440 US gallon (1,700 liter) external fuel tanks for long-distance ferry flights or four tanks plus an Aerial Refueling Store (ARS), or "buddy store", which allows the Super Hornet to refuel other aircraft. Other differences include angular intakes for the engines, a smaller radar cross section (RCS), two extra wing hardpoints for payload, and other aerodynamic changes. By the end of all this, the Super Hornet shared little with earlier F/A-18s aft of the forward fuselage.
[edit] Upgraded avionics
Upgraded avionics being introduced in the Super Hornet include the APG-79 AESA radar, the ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting FLIR), and the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System. The APG-79 radar is new for the Super Hornet. The radar provides nearly instantaneous track updates and enhanced multi-target tracking capability. The APG-79 fully enables the AIM-120 AMRAAM fire and forget capabilities, simultaneously guiding multiple missiles to several targets widely spaced in azimuth, elevation, or range, duplicating at somewhat reduced range and speed, the AWG-9/AIM-54 Phoenix capability of the retired F-14 Tomcat. The semi-active AIM-7 Sparrow required flying towards a target in order to guide its medium range missles. The Super Hornet can in theory carry up to 10 AMRAAMs.
[edit] Tanker role
The Super Hornet, unlike the previous Hornet, can be equipped with an aerial refueling system for refueling of other aircraft<ref>"Boeing Super Hornet Demonstrates Aerial Refueling Capability" Boeing Global Strike Systems, April 14, 1999</ref>, filling the tactical airborne tanker role the Navy had lost with the retirement of the KA-6D tankers. The Hornet has a larger fuel payload capacity than the Tomcat, and is capable of flying the same high performance profiles as other strike aircraft. Critics such as Bob Kress, designer of the F-14 Tomcat, point out that the wing, however, is not as efficient as the subsonic KA-6, and that both Hornets and Super Hornets will be more dependent on inflight refueling than the longer range but retired Tomcat.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Future Upgrades
Plans for the F/A-18E/F include a redesign of the GE F414-400 engines reducing the number of parts and engine maintenance by more than 30% and increasing the engine output thrust by more than 25%. The F/A-18E/F will also get helmet-mounted sights for close-in dogfights. Boeing also plans to reduce its radar cross section.
[edit] EA-18G
The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare version of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, slated to begin production in 2008, with fleet deployment in 2009. The EA-18G will replace the U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler.
[edit] Combat service
The first unit to bring their F/A-18 Super Hornets to combat was VFA-115. On November 6, 2002, two F/A-18Es conducted a "Response Option" strike in support of Operation Southern Watch on two surface-to-air missile launchers at Al Kut and an air defense command and control bunker at Tallil air base. One of the pilots, Lieutenant John Turner dropped 2,000 lb JDAM bombs for the first time from the F/A-18E in wartime.
In Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, VFA-14, VFA-41 and VFA-115 flew Close Air Support, strike, escort SEAD and aerial refueling. Two F/A-18Es from VFA-14 and two F/A-18Fs from VFA-41 were forward deployed to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), the VFA-14 jets flew mostly as aerial refuelers and the VFA-41 jets as Forward Air Controllers.
On September 8, 2006, VFA-211 F/A-18F Super Hornet expended GBU-12 and GBU-38 bombs against Taliban fighters and Taliban fortifications west and northwest of Kandahar. This was the first time the unit was in combat with the Super Hornet<ref>[1] Strikes Continue; ISAF Air Component Commander Visits Big E]</ref>.
[edit] US Navy Squadrons
- VFA-2 Bounty Hunters (F/A-18F)
- VFA-11 Red Rippers (F/A-18F)
- VFA-14 Tophatters (F/A-18E)
- VFA-15 Valions (Will transition to the F/A-18E in 2008)
- VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks (Will transfer F/A-18E's to VF-31 after their deployment, and then will receive new F/A-18F's)
- VFA-27 Royal Maces (F/A-18E)
- VFA-31 Tomcatters (have begun their transition to the F/A-18E in Sept 2006)
- VFA-32 Swordsmen (F/A-18F)
- VFA-41 Black Aces (F/A-18F)
- VFA-81 Sunliners (Will transition to the F/A-18E in 2008)
- VFA-102 Diamondbacks (F/A-18F)
- VFA-103 Jolly Rogers (F/A-18F)
- VFA-105 Gunslingers (F/A-18E)
- VFA-106 Gladiators (Fleet Replacement squadron, operates F/A-18C/D/E/F)
- VFA-115 Eagles (F/A-18E)
- VFA-122 Flying Eagles (Fleet Replacement squadron, operates F/A-18E/F)
- VFA-136 Nighthawks (started transition with VFA-106 as of September 2006)
- VFA-137 Kestrels (F/A-18E)
- VFA-143 Pukin' Dogs (F/A-18E)
- VFA-146 Blue Diamonds (Will transition to the F/A-18E in 2008)
- VFA-154 Black Knights (F/A-18F)
- VFA-211 Fighting Checkmates (F/A-18F)
- VFA-213 Black Lions (Started their transition to the F/A-18F in April 2006 and will be completed in September 2006)
- VFA-151 Vigilanties (Uses the F/A-18C/E/F variants)
- VX-9 Vampires (Air Test and Evaluation Squadron, operates F/A-18C/D/E/F, EA-6B, AV-8B, & AH-1)
[edit] Specifications (F/A-18E Super Hornet)
General characteristics<h3>
- Crew: One</li>
- Length: 60 ft 1.25 in (18.31 m)
- Wingspan: 44 ft 8.5 in. including wingtip-mounted missiles (13.62 m)
- Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
- Wing area: 500.00 ft² (46.45 m²)
- Empty weight: 30,564 lb (13,864 kg)</li>
- Max takeoff weight: 66,000 lb (29,900 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans, 14,000 lbf dry; 22,000 lbf with afterburning (62 kN / 98 kN) each
- Maximum speed: In excess of Mach 1.8 at high altitude (1,188+ mph)
- Range: 681 mi (1095 km) on hi-hi-hi interdiction mission with 4× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and 2 drop tanks, or 173 miles combat, on 135-minute maritime air superiority mission with 6 AAMs and 3 drop tanks (1,095 km / 278 km)
- Service ceiling: >50,000 ft (15,000 m)
- Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² (453kg/m²)
- Guns: 1× 20 mm M61A1/A2 Vulcan cannon
- External payload: 11 external weapons stations with capacity up to 17,750 lb (8,050 kg). 2 wingtip LAU-127 launchers for Sidewinder, 6 removable under wing mounted hard points (4 inner with increased carriage capability), 2 multi-mode conformal fuselage stations (Sparrow / AMRAAM or FLIR/ASQ-228 ATFLIR), 1 centerline fuselage removable hardpoint, usually fuel or refueling store.
- Weapons employment: 2 AIM-9 Sidewinder on wingtips, AIM-7 Sparrow, (up to 12 total to be cleared, more than any other US fighter with 2 each on inner 4 pylons) AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-84E SLAM, SLAM-ER, AGM-62 Walleye, AGM-65 Maverick missiles; AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM); B57 or B61 Nuclear Freefall bombs, Paveway LGBs, Mk 80 series general-purpose bombs, Mk-20 Rockeye II and CBU-series cluster bombs, BLU-series napalm bombs, LAU-sereis multiple launchers for 70 mm Hydra 70 air-to-surface unguided rockets.
[edit] Popular culture
- In 2000, Jane's Combat Simulations released a simulator based on the F/A-18E Super Hornet simply titled "Jane's F/A-18".
- The F/A-18F is the aircraft shot down in the film Behind Enemy Lines.
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Hornet vs. Super Hornet comparison
- List of USN Strike Fighter Squadrons
- Tony Holmes (2004). US Navy Hornet Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom Part One, Osprey Publishing Limited.
- Aerial Refueling Systems Network home page
- Aerospaceweb.org profile of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- 'USS Enterprise aircraft deliver lethal sting of bombs to enemy in Afghanistan' Stars and Stripes October 13, 2006
[edit] Related content
Related development<h3>
- List of active United States military aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of fighter aircraft
