The story of how the Super Hornet and Growler came into existence is the focus of this new book. The F/A-18E/F has its roots in the late-1980s Hornet 2000 study, which itself evaluated ways to enhance the range, payload, and bring-back capability of the existing F/A-18 Hornet. Through a series of trade-offs imposed by largely limited defense funds, what emerged was a versatile, affordable strike fighter aircraft that has served the Navy well since its fleet introduction in 2002. The Growler has a similar history. Itself an offshoot of the Super Hornet program, the EA-18G brought many of the Super Hornet's attributes - speed, maneuverability, self-defense capability, and advanced systems - into the electronic attack community and is now posed to assume all such missions from the venerable EA-6B Prowler within the next few years. The book draws on interviews with many of the key players in the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G program and on many press reports of the day to tell the story of how these aircraft were designed, developed, and deployed. Moreover, the book provides insights into the problems faced by these key individuals as well as the management methods they used to produce aircraft that have consistently been delivered at or ahead of schedule, under cost, and under weight.

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet & EA-18G Growler The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program was born out of a requirement to find a replacement for the cancelled A-12 Avenger II strike aircraft and, through various twists and turns, it became an Grumman F-14 Tomcat replacement and would supplement the smaller, less capable, F/A-18C/D in USN service. Conducting its first flight in prototype form in 1995, Production deliveries commenced in 1998 and the aircraft entered full operational service in the first years of the 21st Century. As well as being the USN's premier strike fighter, the F/A-18F is also operated the Royal Australian Air Force, deliveries commencing in 2010. The EA-18G Growler was developed as a replacement for the EA-6B Prowler in the electronic warfare role. The prototype was flown in 2006 and the Growler achieved initial operational capability in 2009. The Super Hornet has a number of pluses and minuses, but the bottom line is that the aircraft can do the job it was designed for and has potential for future growth as evidenced by the emergence of the Advanced Super Hornet, a growth development of the Block II Super Hornet, primarily aimed at increasing range and reducing the aircraft's radar signature. In the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet the USN got the aircraft that they asked for; no 'silver bullet', but an affordable evolution from the F/A-18C/D Hornet. This volume recounts the Super Hornet and Growler programs genesis and development and describes the aircraft and systems along with entry into service details, with an overview of customer usage and potential future growth in the shape of the Advanced Super Hornet which emerged in 2013. All facts and figures used in the preparation of this volume come from official sources such as manufacturers, operators, government agencies and test organisations. The volume is copiously supported by black and white photographs and technical drawings

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The Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet is an evolutionary redesign of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 A/B Hornet. The Legacy F/A-18 Hornet first flew in 1980 and met the requirement for a multirole fighter to complement the larger and more expensive Grumman F-14 Tomcat, serving in fleet defense interceptor and air superiority roles. The Hornet proved to be effective, but it was limited in combat radius due to fuel capacity. This would be corrected with the newer and larger F/A-18 Super Hornet design, which is now the primary fighter/attack aircraft used in the US Navy carrier fleet and has replaced both the legacy Hornet and the F-14 Tomcat. Additionally, the Super Hornet airframe design was used for the design of the EA-18G Growler, which took over the electronic countermeasures (ECM) role of the EA-6B Prowler.

Beskrivelse af det amerikanske jagerbomberfly SBD (Scout-Bomber Douglas) Dauntless

The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are in the process of replacing the bulk of today¿s fighter aircraft ¿ most of which were purchased in the 1980s ¿ with new F/A-18E/F, F-22, and F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) aircraft. Although current procurement plans call for the purchase of about 2,500 aircraft over the next 25 years, the services are projecting that those purchases will not keep pace with the need to retire today¿s aircraft as they reach the limit of their service life. This study examines the capabilities and costs of the fighter force under DoD plans and the potential implications for DoD¿s long-term budget and inventory levels if planned purchases of new aircraft are insufficient to maintain fighter inventories called for by current service requirements.