Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler Aircraft: Background and Issues for Congress

Publication Date: October 2008

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Military and defense

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Abstract:

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the Navy's highest priority aviation modernization program. It is replacing Navy F/A-18C/D Hornet combat aircraft.

The decision to undertake F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program was made during a period of great turbulence in Navy aviation modernization. During this time frame the Navy struggled to identify and implement the best way to modernize its aging fleet of F-14 fighters and A-6E attack aircraft. The A-12 program (a stealthy replacement to the A-6E) was terminated in January 1991. The AFX program, another proposed replacement for the A-6E, began in 1991, but was also terminated.

The principal alternative to the F/A-18E/F was a modest upgrade of the F-14 -- a large, two-seat fighter designed in the 1960s, with potential air-to-surface attack capabilities. Some observers describe the F/A-18E/F as an upgraded and larger version of the F/A-18C/D, with increased range and payload capacity and more space and weight for future improvements. Others assert that the differences between the baseline Hornet aircraft and the E/F model are so great that they would describe the Super Hornet as an entirely new aircraft.

The Department of Defense is currently facing a shortage of radar and communications jamming capability. The Navy and Marine Corp's EA-6B Prowlers escort and protect Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force aircraft operating in hostile airspace. The Prowlers, however, are few and rapidly aging.1 All the Services are evaluating preferred approaches to ameliorating this shortfall. The Navy's approach is to produce a new electronic attack aircraft based on the F/A-18F, called the EA18G.

The Defense Department's Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) of December 31, 2005, estimated the acquisition cost of a 462-aircraft program at $44 billion. The cost of procuring 90 EA-18G electronic attack variants is estimated at $9 billion. The Super Hornet has been approved for international export, but no sales have been made as of June 2006. Key issues surrounding the program relate to the total number of Super Hornets to be procured.