Military Aircraft, The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress

By Bolkcom, Christopher

Book Id: WPLBN0000109322
Format Type: PDF eBook
File Size: 0.2 MB
Reproduction Date: 2008

Title:	Military Aircraft, The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress
Author:	Bolkcom, Christopher
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Legislation., Government Printing Office (U.S.)
Collections:	Government Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Government Printing Office


Citation APA MLA Chicago Bolkcom, C. (n.d.). Military Aircraft, The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Excerpt
Introduction: Development of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet -- a significantly modified and upgraded version of the Navy’s F/A-18C/D fighter/attack plane -- began in 1991, as one of the two major programs originally proposed for modernizing carrier-based aircraft. The other was the AFX program to develop a new attack plane, but that program was canceled in late 1993. Since then, the F/A-18E/F has been the only active program for modernizing the Navy’s air-to-air fighter capabilities as well as air-to- surface attack capabilities. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, currently projected by Defense Department officials to produce up to 680 new fighter/attack planes for the Navy and Marine Corps, could yield operational aircraft in the 2010s.

Table of Contents
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The F/A-18E/F Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 System Description and Performance Compared to the F/A-18C/D . . . . . . . 2 Cost Estimates and Projected Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sales, Operations, and Basing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Alternatives to the F/A-18E/F Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 EA-18G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Key Issues for Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Mission Capabilities and Threat Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Projected Costs and Inventory Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Program Management and Technical Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Congressional Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 List of Figures Figure 1: Comparison of F/A-18 Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Table 1. Comparison of F/A-18 C/D and E/F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Table 2. F/A-18E/F/G FY2005 Budget ($ millions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13