Aviation Now,
The U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program is proposing to buy up to two dozen more fighters than currently planned, according to a program official.
While the Navy now is slated to buy 550 Boeing-built Super Hornets, Capt. James Wallace, the service's F/A-18 international programs manager, said the program believes the Navy could use another 20 to 24 of the high-demand aircraft, or enough to equip two squadrons. Wallace, who spoke Nov. 17 at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's fighter jet conference, said the case for more jets is being made to higher-ups.
Wallace said, however, that arguments for more Super Hornets have been complicated by the uncertain fate of the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Navy plans to buy the stealthy F-35's carrier variant to complement the Super Hornet, but the Defense Department has been studying a range of options for the multiservice JSF, including slowing the program, speeding it up and killing the carrier variant.
For the Super Hornet, more Navy orders, along with international sales, could strengthen the case for pursuing a third multiyear procurement contract. The Navy is buying 421 jets under the first two multiyears.
Although the Super Hornet still is looking for its first export customer, Wallace said he is talking with several potential buyers, including one unnamed country that recently signed a “letter of intent,” signaling it is “very interested” in buying the aircraft.
India, which is evaluating several fighters, including the Super Hornet, recently asked for a classified briefing on the Super Hornet's new Raytheon-built APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The U.S. government is expected to decide in January or February whether to approve that request, Wallace said. Granting the briefing would indicate the United States is willing to approve the radar's sale to India.
Besides seeing the potential to export hundreds of new Super Hornets, the Navy would consider making 58 of its used jets available for sale to foreign customers, Wallace said.
The U.S. Navy has taken delivery of 245 Super Hornets so far and has used them extensively in Iraq. The Navy's planned Super Hornet purchase is expected to sustain the production line until 2013.
The Super Hornet's current price for the Navy is $53 million per aircraft. The Navy ultimately hopes to cut the cost to about $50 million.
