On March 19, the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command in Pataxent River, Maryland, signed a $1.137 billion contract with Boeing on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense for the purchase of 17 of the latest F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet multirole carrier-based fighter jets.
The contract includes the production of 10 two-seat F/A-18Fs in Lot 46 and seven in Lot 47, including two F/A-18Fs and five single-seat F/A-18Es. The contract also includes the first phase of the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G electronic warfare and air defense penetration technology packages, including operational, maintenance, integration and training data to support the U.S. Navy's Super Hornet and Growler readiness efforts.
Work will be carried out in Hazelwood, Missouri (46.7%), El Segundo, California (35.8%), Bloomington, Maine (1.6%), Quebec, Canada (1.6%), Ridley Park, PA (1.4%), Vanderdalia, Ohio (1.0%), and multiple locations within the contiguous U.S. (10.8%) and outside the U.S. (1.1%), with completion expected by April 2027. The purchase of the aircraft is financed by the US Navy's budget of $50 million for fiscal year 2023 and $213 million budget for fiscal year 2022, both of which were released at the time of contract signing (the latter is due at the end of fiscal year 2024). It is worth mentioning that the components for the production of these two batches of aircraft were ordered on June 1, 2023, and the funds were deducted from the budget of $213 million.
On February 23, 2023, Boeing announced that it had begun preparations to end the serial production of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based fighter, which will end in 2025 if there are no new orders, and in 2027 if one more international contract is completed. The contract was supposed to be India's Multirole Carrier-Based Fighter (MRCBF) program, which would procure 26 carrier-based fighters, but in the end the authorities in New Delhi chose the Rafale M from Dassault Aviation.
Since the F/A-18 Hornet debuted in 1983, Boeing has delivered more than 2,000 Hornet, Super Hornet and Growler fighter jets to customers around the world, including the U.S., Australian, Canadian and Finnish navies, and most recently Kuwait.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a multi-role, twin-engine multi-purpose fighter designed for the U.S. Navy. It is an upgraded version of the original F/A-18 Hornet fighter with enhanced survivability, range and payload capabilities. The Super Hornet can perform a variety of missions, including air superiority, day and night attacks with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strikes, reconnaissance, forward air control, and tanker missions.
Boeing is upgrading the Navy's existing Super Hornet to the latest Block III standard. Upgrades include extended lifespan, a new large-area touchscreen cockpit display, a reduced radar cross-section, and a more powerful computer processor. The Block III-standard Super Hornet airframe is certified for 10,000 hours of flight, compared to 6,000 hours for the Block II-standard Super Hornet.
Over the past few decades, the Super Hornet has participated in fighter bids from countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Finland and Canada, but has lost to the F-35A fighter jet. In contrast, Malaysia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Poland, Spain, the U.S. Marine Corps, Greece, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, South Korea, and Norway have all offered contracts to Super Hornets over the past few decades.