Military Aircraft, the F/A-18EF Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress Page: 2 of 15
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Military Aircraft, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Program:
Background and Issues for Congress
Summary
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the Navy's highest priority aviation
modernization program. It is replacing Navy F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18C/D Hornet
combat aircraft.
The decision to undertake 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 Corp's 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.' All the Services are
evaluating preferred approaches to ameliorating this shortfall. The Navy's preferred
approach is to produce a new electronic attack aircraft based on the F/A-18F, called
the EA-18G.
The Defense Department's Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) of December 31,
2004, estimated the acquisition cost of a 462-aircraft program at $43.98 billion. The
cost of procuring 90 EA-18G electronic attack variants is estimated at $8.65 billion.The Super Hornet has been approved for international export, but no sales have been
made as of July 2005.
Key issues surrounding the program include how many Super Hornets should
ultimately be procured, and management of the E/F multi-year procurement contract,
and the commonality between the F and G variants.1 See CRS Report RL30639 for more information on the EA-6B and Electronic Warfare.
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Bolkcom, Christopher. Military Aircraft, the F/A-18EF Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress, report, July 13, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7257/m1/2/?q=%22defense+economics%22: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.