The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a carrier-based strike jet fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. Additional fuel can be carried with up to five external fuel tanks and the aircraft can be configured as an airborne tanker by adding an external air refueling system.
Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet first flew in 1995. Full-rate production began in September 1997, after the merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing the previous month. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet entered service with the United States Navy in 1999, replacing the F-14 Tomcat since 2006, and serves alongside the original Hornet. In 2007, the Royal Australian Air Force ordered F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to replace its aging F-111 fleet.
Specifications (F/A-18E/F)
General characteristics
- Crew: F/A-18E: 1, F/A-18F: 2
- Length: 60 ft 1¼ in (18.31 m)
- Wingspan: 44 ft 8½ in (13.62 m)
- Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
- Wing area: 500 ft² (46.45 m²)
- Empty weight: 30,600 lb (13,900 kg)
- Loaded weight: 47,000 lb (21,320 kg) (in fighter configuration)
- Max takeoff weight: 66,000 lb (29,900 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans
- Dry thrust: 14,000 lbf (62.3 kN) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 22,000 lbf (97.9 kN) each
- Internal fuel capacity: F/A-18E: 14,400 lb (6,530 kg), F/A-18F: 13,550 lb (6,145 kg)
- External fuel capacity: 5 × 480 gal tanks, totaling 16,380 lb (7,430 kg)
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.8+[11] (1,190 mph, 1,900 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
- Range: 1,275 nmi (2,346 km) clean plus two AIM-9s[11]
- Combat radius: 390 nmi (449 mi, 722 km) for interdiction mission[73]
- Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,070 mi, 3,330 km)
- Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,000+ m)
- Wing loading: 92.8 lb/ft² (453 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.93
Armament
- Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan nose mounted gatling gun, 578 rounds
- Hardpoints: 11 total: 2× wingtips, 6× under-wing, and 3× under-fuselage with a capacity of 17,750 lb (8,050 kg) external fuel and ordnance,
- Rockets:
- Missiles:
- Air-to-air missiles:
- 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or 4× AIM-132 ASRAAM or 4× AIM-120 AMRAAM, and
- 2× AIM-7 Sparrow or additional 2× AIM-120 AMRAAM
- Air-to-surface missiles:
- AGM-65 Maverick
- Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM-ER)
- AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation missile (ARM)
- AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
- Anti-ship missile:
- AGM-84 Harpoon
- Air-to-air missiles:
- Bombs:
- JDAM Precision-guided munition (PGMs)
- Paveway series of Laser guided bombs
- Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
- CBU-87 cluster
- CBU-89 gator mine
- CBU-97
- Mk 20 Rockeye II
- Others:
- SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or
- Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod or
- AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR Targeting pods or
- up to 3× 330 US gallon (1,200 L) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time or
- 1× 330 US gal (1,200 L) tank and 4× 480 US gal (1,800 L) tanks for aerial refueling system (ARS).
Avionics
- Hughes APG-73 or Raytheon APG-79 Radar
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is about 20% larger, 7,000 lb (3,000 kg) heavier empty, and 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) heavier at maximum weight than the original Hornet. The Super Hornet carries 33% more internal fuel, increasing mission range by 41% and endurance by 50% over the "Legacy" Hornet. The empty weight of the Super Hornet is about 11,000 lb (5,000 kg) less than that of the F-14 Tomcat that it replaced, while approaching, but not matching the payload / range of the larger plane.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Airframe changes
The forward fuselage is unchanged but the remainder of the aircraft shares little with earlier F/A-18C/D models. The fuselage was stretched by 34 inches (0.86 m) to make room for fuel and future avionics upgrades and increased the wing area by 25%. However, The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has 42% fewer structural parts than the original Hornet design. The General Electric F414 engine, developed from the Hornet's F404, has 35% more power. The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet can return to an aircraft carrier with a larger load of unspent fuel and munitions than the original Hornet. The term for this ability is known as "bringback". Bringback for the Super Hornet is in excess of 9,000 pounds (4,000 kg).
Other differences include rectangular intakes for the engines and two extra wing hard points for payload (for a total of 11). Among the most significant aerodynamic changes are the enlarged leading edge extensions (LEX) which provide improved vortex lifting characteristics in high angle of attack maneuvers, and reduce the static stability margin to enhance pitching characteristics. This results in pitch rates in excess of 40 degrees per second, and high resistance to departure from controlled flight.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Radar signature reduction measures
Survivability is an important feature of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet design. The US Navy took a "balanced approach" to survivability in its design. This means that it does not rely on low-observable technology, such as stealth systems, to the exclusion of other survivability factors. Instead, its design incorporates a combination of stealth, advanced electronic-warfare capabilities, reduced ballistic vulnerability, the use of standoff weapons, and innovative tactics that cumulatively and collectively enhance the safety of the fighter and crew.
The F/A-18E/F's radar cross section was reduced greatly from some aspects, mainly the front and rear. The design of the engine inlets reduces the aircraft's frontal radar cross section. The alignment of the leading edges of the engine inlets is designed to scatter radiation to the sides. Fixed fanlike reflecting structures in the inlet tunnel divert radar energy away from the rotating fan blades.The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet also makes considerable use of panel joint serration and edge alignment. Considerable attention has been paid to the removal or filling of unnecessary surface join gaps and resonant cavities. Where the F/A-18A-D used grilles to cover various accessory exhaust and inlet ducts, the F/A-18E/F uses perforated panels that appear opaque to radar waves at the frequencies used. Careful attention has been paid to the alignment of many panel boundaries and edges, to scatter traveling waves away from the aircraft.
It is claimed that the Super Hornet employs the most extensive radar cross section reduction measures of any contemporary fighter, other than the F-22 and F-35. While the F/A-18E/F is not a true stealth fighter like the F-22, it will have a frontal RCS an order of magnitude smaller than prior generation fighters.
Avionics
The Super Hornet's original avionics and software have a 90% commonality with then current F/A-18C/Ds. The Super Hornet features a new touch-sensitive, up-front control display; a larger, liquid crystal multipurpose color display; and a new engine fuel display. The Super Hornet has a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire system, as well as a digital flight-control system that detects and corrects for battle damage. Initial production models used the APG-73 radar, later replaced by the APG-79 AESA.
The AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward Looking InfraRed), is the main electro-optical sensor and laser designator pod for the Super Hornet. Defensive systems are coordinated through the Integrated Defensive Countermeasures system (IDECM). The IDECM system includes the ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser, the ALE-50 towed decoy, the AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver, the ALQ-165 Airborne Self-Protect Jammer (ASPJ), and AN/AAR-47, an Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS). Aircrew have the ability to use night vision goggles (NVG) for Super Hornet operations which means the aircraft interior and exterior lighting are NVG compatible.
Tanker role
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, unlike the previous Hornet, can be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or "buddy store" for the refueling of other aircraft, filling the tactical airborne tanker role the Navy had lost with the retirement of the KA-6D and S-3B Viking tankers. The ARS includes an external 330 US gallon (1,200 L) tank with hose reel on the centerline along with four external 480 US gallon (1,800 L) tanks and internal tanks for a total of 29,000 pounds (13,000 kg) of fuel on the aircraft.
Upgrades
Beginning in 2005, new build aircraft received the APG-79 AESA radar. Earlier production aircraft will have their APG-73 replaced with the APG-79. As of January 2008, 135 earlier production aircraft were to receive AESA radar retrofits. VFA-213 "Black Lions" and VFA-106 "Gladiators" based at Oceana Naval Air Station were the first two squadrons to fly the AESA-equipped Super Hornets.
The new APG-79 AESA offers several advantages for the Super Hornet. The new radar enables the aircrew to execute simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks. The APG-79 also provides higher quality high-resolution ground mapping at long standoff ranges. The AESA radar can also detect smaller targets, such as inbound missiles. VFA-213 became "safe for flight" (independently fly and maintain the F/A-18F) on 27 October 2006 and is the first Super Hornet squadron to fly AESA-equipped Super Hornets.
The AN/ALE-55 Fiber-Optic Towed Decoy will replace the ALE-50. The improved AN/ALQ-214 jammer was added on Super Hornet Block II.The first Super Hornet upgraded with an aft cockpit Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) was delivered to VFA-213 on 18 May 2007. VFA-213 is the first squadron to receive the Dual-Cockpit Cueing System for both pilot and Weapon systems officer. The JHMCS provides multi-purpose aircrew situational awareness including high-off-bore-sight cueing of the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) is a high-resolution, digital tactical air reconnaissance system that features advanced day/night and all-weather capability.
In the future, air-to-air target detection using Infrared Search and Track (IRST) in the form of a passive, long range sensor that detects long wave IR emissions will be an option with a unique solution. This new device will be a sensor built into the front of a centerline external fuel tank. Operational capability of this device is expected in 2013. On May 18, 2009, Lockheed Martin announced it had been selected by Boeing to conduct the technology development phase of this sensor.
