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BOEING SEEKS F-18E/F EXPORT CUSTOMERS

At the Paris Air Show Boeing pilots Mike Bryan and Ricardo Traven tried to present the F/A-18E/F in the best possible light. Short take-off distances, flybys at high angle of attack, tight curves and pirouettes were intended to demonstrate the manoeuvrability of the Super Hornet. Captain Scott Swift, commander of the VFA-122 training squadron in Lemoore, California, was also eloquent in his praise of the aircraft. "The Super Hornetís handling qualities at low speeds are unbeatable," said Swift. "The aircraft has generous reserves of thrust, its stability is outstanding and there are no manoeuvre limits with asymmetric loading."

The eulogies over the F/A-18E/F may be fair enough but they conceal other aspects which have so far earned the Navyís new fighter a mediocre image. The General Accounting Office, watchdog of the US Congress, has at any rate never felt any inhibitions in its criticism of the programme in all its test reports. Although many problems such as the ìwing dropî (unpredictable dipping of the wing at intermediate angles of attack) were fixed during the tests, according to the GAO the pilots were unimpressed by the aircraft during field trials. The performance requirements were of course achieved, but all in all the operational effectiveness of the E/F was essentially the same as for the F/A-18C.

Other problems highlighted by the GAO are the low maximum speed and comparatively slow acceleration, especially in the transonic region. According to the GAO, this does not bode well, given the Super Hornetís planned role as fighter-interceptor tasked with the protection of aircraft carriers, and will make it difficult to withdraw rapidly from a combat situation. Only a more powerful engine could help here, yet the US Navy has no plans for an engine upgrade.

Also subject to heavy criticism are the high levels of vibration and noise below the F/A-18E/F wing. These defects, it is argued, will damage air-to-air and even air-to-ground weapons or, as a minimum, reduce their service life. The US Navy plans to resolve this problem by modification of the weapons.

And even if the manufacturer and the US Navy dismiss such criticism as carping over an essentially excellent product, it does not exactly make life easier for those whose job it is to woo export customers. Now that, shortly before the Paris Air Show, authorisation has been granted to present even sensitive technology such as the Raytheon active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to potential customers, marketing activities are to be stepped up. Apparently the US Navy and Boeing have been trying to obtain clearance for over 40 countries.

Thus far the countries showing an interest in technical presentations or price information have included Australia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and Switzerland. The prospects for the F/A-18E/F are of course quite different in the various countries. Austria and Hungary, for example, are unlikely to be able to afford the Super Hornet. The United Kingdom is looking to equip the next generation of aircraft carriers, but here the JSF is the front runner.

Australia, Kuwait and Malaysia currently operate the F-18 and either have a requirement for an F-18 replacement or need additional aircraft. Malaysia, for example, could exchange its F-18Dís for E/Fís. Switzerland would be happy to purchase additional Hornets, but as production of the C/D version has ceased, only the Super Hornet could be considered. Finally, Singapore plans shortly to initiate a fighter competition in which the F/A-18E/F will be pitted against rivals such as the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

In order to be able to hold its own against these representatives of the fourth generation of fighters, Boeing plans to drop the price of the Super Hornet significantly. The unit price is currently over $50 million, but given the long-term contract awarded in June 2000 for 222 aircraft, this should drop back to $48 million. Starting from this baseline, additional improvements in the production sequence should make it possible to reduce the price tag further to just over $40 million by 2005.

Measures planned here include complete redesign of the forward fuselage and a reduction in cycle time from todayís 24 months to a mere 18 months by 2003. Suppliers will make a significant contribution here as well.

The goals may be ambitious but they are not unrealistic, especially as the F/A-18E/F has always been a model programme as regards coming in within budget and on schedule. Boeing has already delivered over 50 aircraft, in many cases several weeks earlier than the agreed date. At present the St. Louis plant is turning out three to four aircraft per month.

After the seven prototypes and evaluation of the first full production aircraft by VX-9 squadron in China Lake, the US Navy has since November 1999 equipped the VFA-122 Flying Eagles training squadron at Naval Air Station Lemoore with the Super Hornet. This Fleet Replacement Squadron, re-formed after almost 10 years, had previously trained crew for the A-7 Corsair. First of all the flying instructors had to be trained. April 2000 saw the first carrier qualification, and by mid-2000 over 100 crews had been trained.

VFA-122 currently has a staffing complement of around 65 officers and 260 men. Some 35 students are trained at a time, using three simulators. The catchphrase of the squadron is, ìWe train the experts.î

NAS Lemoore is also home to the first operational squadron, the VFA-115 Eagles, which had previously flown the F/A-18C and took delivery of its first F-18F on 7 December 2000. It is planned to achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) later this year and then in June 2002 to embark the aircraft on board USS Abraham Lincoln for the first major tour.

This will entail the Super Hornet being deployed for the first time in its primary role as a strike aircraft. A large number of air-to-ground weapons and weapon combinations have already been cleared for use on the aircraft, so that effective missions should be possible from the outset.

In the course of time the F/A-18E/F will also replace the maintenance intensive F-14 Tomcat in service, for example, with squadrons VF-14 and VF-41. An air wing consisting only of Hornets and Super Hornets is to be established by 2003 (probably CVW-11).

The US Navy will thus be totally reliant on the Super Hornet for the foreseeable future. As far as the programme office is concerned, the following characteristics of the Super Hornet constitute the key to successful handling of the new operational scenarios:

• Range and mission duration. According to the US Navy the operational radius on attack missions has increased by some 40 %. With two auxiliary tanks, the single-seater has a range of 822 km or 855 km as a fighter escort.
• Payload. The Super Hornet can carry some 8,030 kg of weapons, tanks or similar from eleven stores stations. Interestingly, one of the missions envisaged is as a tanker. The F/18E can carry 13,610 kg of fuel and escort the fighter-bombers through to the target area, something not possible with the S-3 Viking that is currently deployed.
• Survivability. Although not a stealth aircraft in the true sense, the radar cross-section (RCS) of the F/A-18E/F has been significantly reduced, especially frontal aspect RCS, for example as a result of modifications to the air intakes. There is also a comprehensive electronic warfare suite.
• Bring-back capability. With the F-18C/D there is the problem that apart from the necessary fuel reserve only a very light weapons payload can be brought back to the carrier. The problems this causes were particularly evident during patrols over the former Yugoslavia or Iraq where it was constantly necessary to make compromises as regards range and weapons fit. The Super Hornet on the other hand can return 4,310kg of valuable unexpended ordnance and unused fuel to the carrier deck.

To start with, the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) from Vision Systems International is to be available to the pilots by the end of the year. Initial flight trials with the helmet-mounted sight were carried out in the spring at the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California. In tandem with the Raytheon AIM-9X, the JHMCS enables the pilot to pick up and attack targets at high off-boresight angles. According to the US Navy this capability will rectify any alleged shortcomings in close air combat.

The Navy is also expecting significant benefits to result from replacement of the AAS-38 FLIR pod, with its unsatisfactory resolution and magnification, by the Advanced Targeting FLIR (ATFLIR). ATFLIR has been under development by Raytheon since March 1998 and should be available for the first carrier operation next year. The compact pod, with its intermediate band thermal imaging 680 x 480 resolution sensor, offers twice the range, making target detection and the use of stand-off weapons considerably easier. Another advantage according to Raytheon is the very much higher reliability of up to 600 hours between failures. Repairs should be possible in only 15 minutes.

Work is continuing on the Super Hornetís electronic warfare suite. The first operational squadrons will be fitted with the ALQ-165 airborne self-protection jammer (ASPJ) while development problems with the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) system are fully resolved. Only in the Block 2 standard will the ALE-50 towed decoy be integrated, to be followed still later by new ALE-214 jammers.

Once the F-14 Tomcat has been taken out of service, the F/A-18E/F will also assume the reconnaissance role. To meet this requirement the Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) is currently under development. It is based on an auxiliary tank, weighs around 950kg and contains electro-optical cameras with either long or medium focal length. Raytheon is responsible for system integration, while Recon/Optical is supplying the sensors. The first phase of flight tests with SHARP commenced on 24 March. It is scheduled to enter service by mid-2003 when the F/A-18E/F puts to sea on board USS Nimitz.

In 2006 the Super Hornet is to receive a new radar, the Raytheon APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). It has a range of over 180 km, covers a larger area and allows simultaneous use of air-to-air and air-to-ground modes.

According to the manufacturer its technology is comparable to that proposed for the JSF. The APG-79 will improve the stealth characteristics and it will also be possible to use it for EW tasks. Raytheon promises a five-fold increase in reliability over its predecessor.

Boeing selected Raytheon to develop the radar in November 1999 but initially the two companies had to fund development work themselves until the US Navy awarded an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract worth $324.5 million. Five complete experimental models are to be built and initially testing will take place in a Boeing 737.

Boeing has also given some thought to human factors aspects of the Super Hornet. Larger displays (up to 20 cm x 25 cm) are to be introduced. In the F-18F the weapon systems officer in the rear seat is to receive additional support for mission management tasks. He will then be able to release weapons independently. The digital map display is also to be improved to 1024 x 1280 pixels, lika a normal PC screen!

The Super Hornet is thus poised for takeoff on its career with the US Navy, with plenty of additional potential still to come. Even if it is not an export success, it will form the backbone of the US Navyís aircraft carrier units for decades to come and will be deployed in all the worldís trouble spots. At present 548 aircraft are planned, but if the JSF programme is delayed it is possible that additional aircraft may need to be procured.

From FLUG REVUE 09/2001, page 54