Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants 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 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 Super Hornet entered service with the United States Navy in 1999, replacing the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet in US Navy and later ADF and Kuwaiti service.

Variants

 * F/A-18E Super Hornet: Single-seat variant.
 * F/A-18F Super Hornet: Two-seat variant.
 * Boeing EA-18G Growler: Electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F to replace the U.S. Navy's Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler.
 * Advanced Super Hornet: Variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet with conformal fuel tanks, built-in IRST21 sensor system, a stealthy enclosed weapons pod, and has a further reduced radar cross section. The F414-EPE engines increasing thrust by 20%.

Users

 * Australia
 * Royal Australian Navy
 * Germany
 * Luftwaffe
 * Kuwait
 * Kuwaiti Air Force
 * United States
 * United States Marine Corps
 * United States Navy

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 (46.5 m²)
 * Empty weight: 32,081 lb (14,552 kg)
 * Loaded weight: 47,000 lb (21,320 kg) (in fighter configuration)
 * Max. takeoff weight: 66,000 lb (29,937 kg)
 * Powerplant: 2 x General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans
 * Dry thrust: 13,000 lbf (62.3 kN) each
 * Thrust with afterburner: 22,000 lbf (97.9 kN) each
 * Internal fuel capacity: F/A-18E: 14,400 lb (6,780 kg), F/A-18F: 13,550 lb (6,354 kg)
 * External fuel capacity: 5 x 480 gal tanks, totaling 16,380 lb (7,381 kg)

Performance

 * Maximum speed: Mach 1.8+[ (1,190 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)]
 * Range: 1,275 nmi (2,346 km) clean plus two AIM-9s
 * Combat radius: 390 nmi (449 mi, 722 km) for interdiction mission
 * Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,070 mi, 3,330 km)
 * Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,000+ m)
 * Rate of climb: 44,882 ft/min[citation needed] (228 m/s)
 * Wing loading: 94.0 lb/ft² (459 kg/m²)
 * Thrust/weight: 0.93
 * Design load factor: 7.6 g

Armament

 * Guns: 1 x 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan nose mounted gatling gun, 578 rounds
 * Hardpoints: 11 total: 2 x wingtips, 6 x under-wing, and 3 x under-fuselage with a capacity of 17,750 lb (8,050 kg) external fuel and ordnance
 * Missiles:
 * Air-to-air missiles:
 * 4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder
 * 4 x AIM-120 AMRAAM, and
 * 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow or additional 2 x AIM-120 AMRAAM
 * Air-to-surface missiles:
 * AGM-65 Maverick
 * Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM-ER)
 * AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation missile
 * AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
 * Anti-ship missile:
 * AGM-84 Harpoon
 * Bombs:
 * JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)
 * Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
 * Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
 * CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
 * CBU-78 Gator
 * 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 U.S. gallon (1,200 L) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time or
 * 1 x 330 U.S. gal (1,200 L) tank and 4 x 480 U.S. gal (1,800 L) tanks for aerial refueling system (ARS).
 * Avionics
 * Hughes APG-73 or Raytheon APG-79 Radar
 * Northrop Grumman/ITT AN/ALE-165 self-protection jammer pod or BAE Systems AN/ALE-214 integrated defensive electronic countermeasures system
 * Raytheon AN/ALE-50 or BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 towed decoy
 * Northrop Grumman AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver
 * MIDS LVT or MIDS JTRS datalink transceiver

Related Development

 * McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
 * McDonnell-Douglas CF-188 Hornet
 * Boeing EA-18G Growler

Comparable Aircraft

 * Dassault Rafale
 * Eurofighter Typhoon
 * Mikoyan MiG-29K
 * Mikoyan MiG-35
 * Shenyang J-11B/SH
 * Sukhoi Su-33
 * Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark