The USA’s 2005-2009 Multi-Year Hornet Procurement Contract

F/A-18F Super Hornet
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The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms.

DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The article is now closed, and returns to public access. For a follow up, see MYP-III: 2010-2013 Contracts.

Hornet MYP: Aircraft Types & Budgets

Hornet vs. Super Hornet
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Super Hornets are flown by the US Navy, replacing the service’s retired F-14 Tomcat fighters. The US Marines fly smaller, earlier-generation F/A-18 C/D Hornets that are no longer in production, and will replace them with F-35B STOVL (Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing) Lightning IIs when the time comes. While both types of aircraft are referred to as Hornets, the Super Hornets have less than 40% commonality with previous F/A-18A-D versions. The F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets have been enlarged in all dimensions and fitted with 2 extra weapons pylons. The new design created pylon vibration problems early on, which explains the “dogtooth” design on the wings’ leading edge. Super Hornets also have more powerful GE F414 engines, instead of the F404s that equipped the Hornets. The air intakes have been modified to accommodate the new engine’s demands and lower the plane’s radar signature, and other “signature shaping” measures have been employed around the plane.

The F/A-18E is a single-seat Super Hornet. The 2-seat F/A-18F sacrifices some range, carrying only 13,350 pounds of fuel – 900 fewer pounds than the F/A-18E. In exchange for this reduced range, it adds a second crewman with an advanced attack station cockpit to assist in strike roles. The F/A-18F Block II adds a number of enhancements, but all are electronic rather than aerodynamic. The most significant improvement is its AN/APG-79 AESA radar that enables simultaneous air and surface scans and is likely to offer improved reconnaissance, jamming, and even communications capabilities. Plus others the government may wish to add.

In addition to its strike role, both versions of the Super Hornet are also taking over the tactical refueling role from the retiring S-3 Viking sea control aircraft.

EA-18G from below
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The EA-18G Growler is based on the F/A-18F but removes the 20mm cannon in the nose, adds new electronics, and mounts special electronic warfare pods on the aircraft’s underwing and wingtip pylons. Typically, the EA-18G retains 2 fuselage slots and 2 underwing slots for weapons carriage, though the wing pylons can also be used to hold extra fuel. Typical weapons loads will include anti-radar missiles like the AGM-88 HARM/AARGM family on the 2 free underwing pylons, plus 2 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles on the fuselage slots for aerial self-defense.

The EA-18G Growler will replace the old EA-6B Prowler aircraft, whose airframes date from the Vietnam era. With the retirement of the USAF’s EF-111 Ravens, the Prowlers are now the only dedicated jamming aircraft in America’s inventory that can accompany tactical strike missions. They are also called upon for a wide variety of other missions, including missions over Iraq to cover convoys and jam remotely-triggered IED land-mines. See DID’s EA-18G FOCUS Article for more information.

The figures below track MYP-II budgets from 2005 – 2009, based on Pentagon Comptroller figures. All figures are in millions:

NOTES:

• RDT&E = Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation.

• The December 2003 contract covers only airframes, which are used by the Super Hornet and Growler programs alike. Engines, radars, jamming devices, and other equipment must still be installed, which drives the totals much higher than $8.56 billion for 210 working airplanes.

• All fleet support costs for the Super Hornet and Growler aircraft will be found in the F-18E/F procurement budget line.

• FY 2009 was MYP-II’s final procurement year. The initial plan was to replace MYP-II with single year procurements in 2010, 2011 and 2012, but Congress was less certain. Concerns about the F-35 program‘s lateness, and the Navy’s fighter gap as older aircraft retire, led to MYP-III (see also June 23/09 entry).

Contracts & Key Events, FY 2005-2009

F/A-18E & F-14:
passing gas
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DID’s coverage does not extend to all Super Hornet and Growler components, just contracts under the MYP-II agreement, which sometimes include modification to related systems that are funded under the umbrella procurement program. DID also covers the FIRST performance-based support contract for the Super Hornet fleet, and is beginning to add F414 engine coverage as well, even though these are technically separate contracts. Additional coverage can be found in DID’s Spotlight and FOCUS Articles covering the AN/APG-79 AESA radar that equips some Super Hornets, and the derivative EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

Unless otherwise specified, The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, MD, USA manages these contracts, and Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO is the contractor.

Note that Northrop Grumman is the original creator of the YF-17 that spawned the F/A-18 series, and remains an important subcontractor. All work performed in “El Segundo, CA,” for instance, is almost certainly NGC’s work.

Sept 17/09: General Electric Co., Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA received a $39.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to provide 8 more F414-GE-400 spare engines and modules for the US Navy, to power the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. GEAE will also provide 7 engine fan modules; 5 engine high pressure combuster (HPC) modules; 3 combuster modules; and 4 low pressure turbine (LPT) modules.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (49%); Madisonville, KY (21%); Hooksett, NH (12%); Albuquerque, NM (7%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Wilmington, NC (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Quebec, Canada (1%), and is expected to be complete in May 2011.

Aug 14/09: A $76.3 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), for “additional ancillary mission equipment” for F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ (79.2%); St. Louis, MO (11.3%); Minneapolis, MN (7.3%); and Camarillo, CA (2.2%) and is expected to be complete in August 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $29.9 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/09.

Aug 5/09: A $16 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), for “additional ancillary mission equipment” for F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (96%); and Irving, CA (4%), and is expected to be complete in March 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $3.5 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/09.

June 23/09: Government Executive magazine reports that Boeing has submitted an unsolicited offer to the US Navy for an MYP-III program that would build 149 Super Hornet family aircraft over the next 5 years for $50 million each base cost, instead of the planned Navy buys of 89 aircraft over the next 3 years. As always, key government-furnished equipment like engines, radars, the EA-18G’s electronic warfare equipment, etc. would fall under their own separate contracts, so actual cost per operational plane will be higher.

Present studies indicate that age and retirement, coupled with the F-35C program’s long lead time, will leave the Navy below its planned number of operational carrier-based fighters, rising to a maximum of 69 planes in 2017.

July 23/09: A $5.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for “ancillary mission equipment” for the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, and is expected to be complete in March 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $2.9 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

June 2/09: US Navy CNO Adm. Roughead defends the FY 2010 budget decision to request only 9 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets instead of 18 ($1.19 billion, incl. $127.7 million RDT&E), alongside the planned 22 EA-18G Growlers ($1.69 billion, incl. 55.4 million RDT&E). The decision was made in order to speed up F-35 fielding and procurement, though the F-35C carrier model isn’t scheduled for fielding until 2015. The US Marines’ F-35B STOVL(Short Takeoff, Vertical Landing) variant still hopes to begin fielding in 2012. Current FY 2010 plans call for 30 F-35s: 10 USAF F-35As, 16 USMC F-35Bs, and 4 USN F-35C test aircraft.

Gannett’s Navy Times quotes Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway re: Future plans:

“The initial vertical flight has slid right six or seven months… going to happen this fall… But the most recent information we have out of Fort Worth is that the engine is developing even more power than we thought it might for vertical lift, so we’re encouraged… We reach initial operating capability in 2012… We are the first of the services… We’re anxious to put it aboard ship and see how it performs there. Then we will make a joint Navy-Marine Corps decision in terms of what the resulting numbers of our buy needs to look like. But we’re fairly encouraged by what we see.”

They weren’t successful. Both the House and Senate defense bills went on to add $560 million for 9 more F/A-18 E/F aircraft, raising the FY 2010 buy to 18. There is also talk of a follow-on MYP-III contract.

May 8/09: The SAWF reort was accurate. GE Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA receives a $7.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-09-G-0009) for the demonstration of new technologies to reduce the specific fuel consumption (SFC) of the F414-GE-400 engine.

This effort is in support of the Near Term Energy Efficiency Technology Demonstration and Research Project, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (a.k.a the “stimulus bill”). Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (91%), and Evendale, OH (9%), and is expected to be complete in December 2010.

March 23/09: The Indian SAWF site reports that NAVAIR has reportedly awarded a contract to GE to build a single F414-GE-400 with better Specific Fuel Consumption than the current engine, quantify the amount of fuel savings both individually and in combination, and provide a plant to incorporate the new technologies across the fleet.

March 3/09: General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA receives a $438.1 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract, exercising an option for FY 2009 full rate production of 116 F414-GE-400 engines and 114 F414-GE-400 device kits. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (90 engines, 90 kits; $343.7M; 78.4%) and the Royal Australian Air Force (26 engines, 24 kits; $94.4M; 21.6%).

The engines are ordered under a 2007 multi-year contract for delivery of up to 384 F414 engines and modules, in order to support the US Navy’s planned purchases of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The US Navy is authorized to issue orders beyond that total, and the agreement also included 4 option years that could result in engine deliveries continuing into 2012. If all options are exercised, the contract’s total value could grow to more than $1.5 billion.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Quebec, Canada, (1%), and is expected to be complete in April 2011 (N00019-06-C-0088). See also GE release.

Feb 27/09: Australian Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon announces that Boeing will pre-wire 12 of its planned 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets on the production line, in order to allow future conversions to EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft variants. The additional cost is cited as A$ 35 million, out of a total order now cited as A$ 6.6 billion. Completing that fit out to “Growler Lite” status is expected to involve an additional A$ 300 million, with the go/no-go decision set for 2012. Minister’s release

Feb 13/09: General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA receives a $6.4 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to provide technical, engineering and component life cycle management in support of the FY 2009 F414-GE-400 Engine Component Improvement Program.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (90%); Johnson City, NY (4%); East Aurora, NY (4%); and Evendale, OH (2%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009.

Jan 23/09: General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA receives a $27 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) for engineering and integrated logistics services in support of the F414-GE-400 Engine Component Improvement Program.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (78%); Evendale, OH (13%); Lemoore, CA (5%), and Jacksonville, FL (4%), and is expected to be complete in Dec. 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $905,353 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Dec 23/08: A $19.9 million cost plus fixed fee order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for engineering efforts in support of F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, MD, and is expected to be complete in October 2009.

Dec 15/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines Business Group in Lynn, MA received a $128.3 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to provide for the FY 2008 full rate production of 32 F414-GE-400 engines, 32 F414-GE-400 device kits, 1 F414-GE-400 spare engine, 3 F414-GE-400 HPC modules, 2 F414-GE-400 LPT modules, and 2 F414-GE-400 combustor modules for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Super Hornet aircraft.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH, (1%); and Bromont, Canada, (1%), and is expected to be complete in February 2011.

Dec 4/08: A $66.6 million fixed price incentive fee contract to buy long lead time materials and associated services for the Lot 34 Full Rate Production of the F/A-18 and EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in December 2009. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 (N00019-09-C-0019).

F/A-18E, armed
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Sept 25/08: A $13.6 million modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for incorporation of Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 6318 “Incorporation of upgraded Solid State Recorder (USSR)” to provide high fidelity recording of the 14 F/A-18E, 9 F/A-18F, and 22 EA-18G 8 x 10 display, that retains and expands on the current Solid state Recorder capabilities.

This modification/order combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($7.6 million, 56%) and the Governments of Switzerland ($3 million, 22%) and Finland ($3 million; 22%) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in November 2010.

Sept 25/08: A $26.3 million cost plus fixed fee order against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-08-D-0004) for “engineering technical services required to identify the solution to an in-production emergent obsolescence issue in the Type 3 Advanced Mission Computer for the F/A-18E/F/G Super Hornet.”

Work will be performed in Minneapolis, MN (50%) St. Louis, MO (25%) and Albuquerque, NM (25%), and is expected to be complete in October 2010.

Sept 8/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines Business Group in Lynn, MA received a $120.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) for the FY 2008 Full Rate Production of 30 F414 GE-400 jet engines, 24 device kits; and 19 various modules in support of the Royal Australian Air Force under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Note that this is only part of Australia’s F414 engine order.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Quebec, Canada, (1%), and is expected to be complete in January 2010. Australia buys its engines under the same firm-fixed-price contract used by the US Navy. That’s an advantage offered to prospective sales by the US government, allowing them to leverage the pricing for America’s much larger orders.

Sept 8/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines Business Group in Lynn, MA receives a $21.6 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088), exercising an option for the FY 2008 procurement of 7 F414-GE-400 Engine Fan Modules, 13 F414-GE-400 Engine HPC Modules, and 11 F414-GE-400 Engine LPT Modules.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Quebec, Canada (1%), and is expected to be complete in January 2010.

Aug 5/08: A $659.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), exercising the option for 13 F/A-18Fs and 3 E/A-18G aircraft for the U.S. Navy.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (28.7%); El Segundo, CA (25%); Goleta, CA (8.6%); Clearwater, FL (2.3%); Greenlawn, NY (2.1%); Burnsville, MN (2.1%); Johnson City, NY (2.1%); Brooklyn Heights, OH (2%); Vandalia, OH (2%); Grand Rapids, MI (2%); South Bend, IN (2%); Mesa, AZ (1.8%); Fort Worth, TX (1.8%); and at various locations across the United States (17.5%), and is expected to be complete in January 2012.

June 4/08: Boeing delivers the first fleet EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft to the U.S. Navy’s VAQ-129 Vikings Electronic Attack Squadron at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA ahead of schedule and within budget. The Vikings are a Fleet Readiness squadron, which means they’ll be the training squadron for all EA-18G pilots.

The delivery follows 5 test aircraft, and the Growler is scheduled to enter Operational Evaluation in September 2008. If OpEval goes well, the aircraft will be moved from Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) to full-rate production. Boeing release.

May 30/08: A $26 million order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for F/A-18E/F Service Life Assessment Program support services. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (68%) and El Segundo, CA (32%), and work is expected to be complete in December 2011.

May 14/08: Boeing holds a grand opening for its new EA-18G Growler Support Center (GSC) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA. The center will provide technical and logistics support for the EA-18s once the Navy accepts the first fleet Growler at the aircraft’s NAS Whidbey Island home base in early June of 2008.

The GSC will house approximately 24 representatives from the Navy and the Hornet/Growler industry team of Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Electric. The center, along with the base’s existing supply chain management facility, will ensure that logistics support for new Growlers is readily available, per the FIRST performance-based maintenance contract for the US Navy’s Super Hornet fleet. Boeing release.

May 12/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines business group in Lynn, MA received a $24.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088). It exercises an option for the FY 2008 Lot 12 prchase of 7 F-414-GE-400 spare engines for F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Canada (1%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009.

May 2/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines business group in Lynn, MA received a $321.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088), exercising an option for FY 2008 Lot 12 full rate production of 84 F-414-GE-400 engines and device kits and 10 engine fan modules. They will be installed in F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Canada (1%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009.

May 1/08: NAVAIR’s Naval Air Weapon Station China Lake test range opened a new 30,000 square foot facility next to the F/A-18 and EA-18G Advanced Weapons Labs. The first 3 floors are office spaces and conference rooms, with the top 3 floors dedicated to labs for Super Hornet and Growler programs. A conference room in the $19.5 million building may be made available for use by other weapons development programs as well. NAVAIR release.

April 29/08: A $23.8 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014). This modification buys ancillary mission equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft, which is installed as Government-Furnished Equipment. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ (83%); and St. Louis, MO (17%) and is expected to be complete in January 2010.

April 3/08: A $19 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for final economic price adjustment labor adjustment to support the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft programs. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete at the end of September 2008, when the Pentagon’s fiscal year ends.

Dec 17/07: A $6.1 million modification to the previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), covering ancillary mission equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (89%) and St. Louis, MO (11%) and is expected to be complete in November 2009.

F/A-18F, landing
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Sept 26/07: The F/A-18 Integrated Readiness Support Teaming (FIRST) program receives the system-level award for excellence in the field of performance-based logistics from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Under FIRST, the US Navy pays for a set level of aircraft readiness, not individual spare parts or services. Industry has the incentive to make parts and systems more reliable, while the customer enjoys increased readiness at a lower cost of ownership.

FIRST has increased the Super Hornet’s mission capable rate from a problematic 57% in 2000 to 73% thus far in 2007, while providing significant cost savings. In Boeing’s press release, FIRST program manager Larry Sellman is quoted as saying something the British already knew, which is that:

“We continue to prove that streamlining the support for a major weapons system through a public/private partnership is the best solution for everyone.”

F414-GE-400 engine
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Sept 26/07: General Electric Aircraft Engines Business Group in Lynn, MA received a $339.8 million modification to turn a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-06-C-0088) into a firm-fixed-price contract. In addition, this modification provides for the Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Full Rate Production of 84 F-414-GE-400 engines for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G, 84 devices, 10 fan modules, 30 HPT(high-pressure turbine) modules and 18 LPT(low-pressure turbine) modules.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (47%); Hooksett, NH (16.99%); Rutland, VT (14%); Albuquerque, N.M. (9%); Madisonville, Ky. (9%); Evandale, OH (4%); and Wilmington, N.C. (.01%), and is expected to be completed in January 2009. The DefenseLINK entry was corrected on Sept 27/07.

The F414 delivers 35% more thrust than the GE F404s installed in F/A-18 A-D Hornets, and also features upgrades designed to improve reliability and make them easier to maintain. Note that each aircraft uses 2 engines, so 84 covers all 42 aircraft.

Sept 26/07: Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. received a not-to-exceed $171.9 million undefinitized modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), covering 3 of the twin-seat F/A-18Fs and 1 twin-seat EA-18G aircraft for the U.S. Navy.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (28.7%); El Segundo, Calif. (25%); Goleta, Calif. (8.6%); Clearwater, Fla. (2.3%); Greenlawn, N.Y. (2.1%); Burnsville, Minn. (2.1%); Johnson City, N.Y. (2.1%); Brooklyn Heights, Ohio (2%); Vandalia, Ohio (2%); Grand Rapids, Mich. (2%); South Bend, Ind. (2%); Mesa, Ariz. (1.8%); Fort Worth, Texas (1.8%); and at various locations across the United States (17.5%), and is expected to be completed in September 2010.

July 5/07: A $90,242,460 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for a newly developed, additional capability for the AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (95%) and St. Louis, Mo. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

June 9/07: Defense Technology International claims that new computing capabilities may allow a stealthier “Block III” version of the Super Hornet, since it’s now possible to accurately model the radar cross section and aerodynamics of an aircraft when it’s loaded with external weapons et. al. Boeing’s president for advanced systems, George Muellner, says. “It’s not the bombs and missiles – it’s the interactions between them and the airframe. Ten years ago, it would have taken you six months of Cray time to model it. Now you can do it on a distributed network of PCs.”

Jane’s has also talked about the idea of a stealthier Super Hornet under development by Boeing’s Phantom Works, noting that the basic Super Hornet already incorporates some edge alignments, swept inlets, treated blocker vanes in front of the engines, and other stealth (“low observable”) features. Stealthier external weapons would definitely offer an important next step, since the F/A-18 E/F lacks the internal weapons bays found modern stealth fighters like the F-35 Lightning II and F-22A Raptor.

May 16/07: A $7,394,189 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for the redesign of 5 monolithic microwave integrated circuits utilized in the F/A-18E/F AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (95%) and St. Louis, MO (5%), and is expected to be complete in December 2008. Contract funds in the amount of $6 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

March 19/07: A $7.7 million modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for ancillary mission equipment to support the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ (70%); Clearwater, FL (20%); and St. Louis, MO (10%), and is expected to be complete in November 2008.

Dec 15/06: A $23.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for Ancillary Mission Equipment (AME) to support the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ (89%), and St. Louis, MO (20%), and is expected to be complete in November 2008.

Oct 30/06: A $23.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for ancillary mission equipment to support the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in November 2008.

FIRST: the goal
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Jan 31/06: An $11.6 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for the performance of Engineering Change Proposal 6250R1: “EA-18G and F/A-18 E/F Lot 30 and Up Common Hardware Changes-Group 2.” This modification provides for Common Forward Fit nonrecurring and recurring engineering, including supplies to incorporate modifications into 67 F/A-18E and 101 F/A-18F aircraft. The new EA-18G is based on the 2-seat F/A-18F.

Work will be performed in Melbourne, FL (73%); and St. Louis, MO (27%); and is expected to be complete in September 2011.

Jan 3/06: Boeing announces a long-term, $995 million performance-based logistics contract from the US Navy for the F/A-18E/F Integrated Readiness Support Teaming (FIRST) program. FIRST consolidates a number of existing Naval Inventory Control Point, (NAVICP) contracts into one, and adds new services including an automated maintenance environment with an integrated software program that improves maintenance data, fault diagnosis and decisions; as well as integrated electronic technical manuals for F/A-18A-D Hornet models.

Under FIRST, Boeing will manage and forecast spares and repairs, oversee spares inventories, make supportability improvements within the budget in order to meet its availability targets, and handle obsolescence management and technology insertion. Like the British “contracting for availability” agreements, the objective is to improve fleet support and aircraft readiness while reducing costs.

Boeing currently provides field service representatives on site at aircraft bases in California and Virginia under the Hornet support network concept, and this infrastructure will be leveraged for the new contract. Several original equipment manufacturer suppliers, along with Navy depots in California, North Carolina and Florida, will also be used to perform FIRST repairs.

As a performance-based logistics contract, Boeing will be rewarded for having the aircraft meet in-service readiness targets, rather than getting paid for spare parts or hours worked. FIRST began in 2001 with annual contracts, and the program is projected to provide approximately $1.0 billion in cost avoidances and savings over the 30-plus-year life cycle of the Super Hornet. FIRST was nominated for the Department of Defense awards program for excelle nce in performance based logistics by the Navy’s Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft in Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., USA.

F/A-18E, Parked
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June 27/05: A $10.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for nonrecurring and recurring production effort to incorporate the joint helmet mounting cueing system (JHMCS) into F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in December 2011.

May 24/05: A $39.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for the procurement of FY 2005 ancillary mission equipment (AME) to support the F/A-18 E/F production aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (55%) and Mesa, AZ (45%) and is expected to be complete in September 2007. Contract funds in the amount of $22.5 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Feb 7/05: A $13.1 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for the procurement and installation of Solid State Recorders into 210 FA-18E/F aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in September 2011.

The recorders will provide capability to share target images between FA-18 and strike associated air and ground elements, improve target identification via image correlation, support image-based precision targeting and weapons capabilities, enhance post-mission debriefing, and enhance mission pre-briefing and/or training.

Dec 29/03: An $8.56 billion fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for the multi-year procurement of F/A-18E/F airframes. This Multi-Year II (MYP II) contract will cover construction and delivery of 210 F/A-18E/F aircraft over a 5-year period from FY 2005 – FY 2009. While the contract was technically issued in FY 2004, lead times for delivery et. al. mean that deliveries will take a while to start.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (60%), and El Segundo, CA (40%, Northrop Grumman), and is expected to be complete in October 2011. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-04-C-0014).

Additional Readings

• DID – Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: 2010-2014 Contracts

• US Navy Fact File – F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter. Less information than some other sources, but does offer useful comparisons of the Hornet and Super Hornet, since both are included.

• Naval Technology – F/A-18E/F Super Hornet – Maritime Strike Attack Aircraft, USA

• Boeing – F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

• DID FOCUS Article – EA-18G Program: The USA’s Electronic Growler

• US Congressional Research Service (updated June 8/06) – Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler Aircraft: Background and Issues for Congress

• GE Engines – Model F414

• Raytheon – AN/APG-79 AESA Radar

• DID Spotlight – New APG-79 AESA Radars for Super Hornets

• DID Spotlight – Elec Tricks: Turning AESA Radars Into Broadband Comlinks

• DID (July 5/07) – F-18 Super Hornets to Get IRST. InfraRed Scan & Track, which lets planes target enemy planes with infrared missiles from beyond visual range. IR-guided missiles use passive sensors, so they don’t trigger an enemy plane’s radar warning receiver the way radar-guided missiles do. IRST is an increasingly common feature on modern fighters, but the location of the Super Hornet’s IRST will not be: it will be part of a reduced-capacity centerline fuel tank.

• Flight International (March 13/07) – Ultra Hornet. Describes the updates to create the Hornet Block 30/Block II+; the performance enhancements are all electronic rather than aerodynamic. Interestingly, among future Flightplan enhancements is a limited electronic attack function for all APG-79 AESA radars.

• US Navy, Navy Enterprise magazine (Nov 1/06) – PBL Drives F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G Maintenance Efficiency

• DID (Nov 22/05) – More F-18 Super Hornets Possible for USA, Exports

• DID (Oct 22/05) – Supersonic SIGINT: Will F-35, F-22 Also Play EW Role?