Advanced F/A-18F Fighters Arrive in Japan

last SG · 2003-11-20T17:14:32+00:00

Originally posted by cavsg: Advanced F/A-18F Fighters Arrive in Japan First Wave of Advanced F/A-18F Fighters Arrive at U.S. Navy Base Just South of Tokyo T...

cavsg SG

the growler is build around the Fplus, boeing introduced the Fplus so that anytime the us navy can covert a F to G if they decided to get more than the 90 G model planned for. the penalty of building a Fplus is 50lbs of weight. its all inside last week's awst as a market supplement. 5 pages of super hornet stuff.

cavsg SG

I dig deeper to check. growler is based on lot 30 of block II.

when deployed at the end of the decade, the super hornet is the only strike aircraft with a jammer of the same type going into hostile territory with it. and the only jammer that can protect itself from air to air harm by being equiped with AMRAAM and air to air radar while carrying out its jamming duties.

duotiga83 SG

i thought it uses APG-79 AESA radar too? Confused

YourFather SG

It will have the APG-79 radar. However, it will not be able to integrate the AESA’s inherent jamming capabilities with the baseline ALQ-99 jammers onboard, as was originally intended due to timeline and monetary constraints. However, such an upgrade would be likely after the Growler is fielded. Its interesting to note too that the Growler would not be able to carry out strike missions as was originally intended. (original intent was that the Growler would be like any other F model hornet with the additional kamming capability added) Now the baseline G would only be able to carry HARMs, AMRAAMs and AIM-9s, until upgradde.

cavsg SG

Key F/A-18E/F Enhancements Finally Emerge
Aviation Week & Space Technology
10/27/2003, page 54
Robert Wall
Washington

The major subsystems at the heart of the F/A-18E/F are finally fleet-ready, after years of development, although several key warfighting features will take a while longer before they are fielded.

The past year has been a busy one for the F/A-18E/F. The strike fighter saw first combat action almost exactly a year ago, as part of the no-fly zone enforcement in southern Iraq. During the recent Iraq war, the first operational F/A-18E squadron, VFA-115 on the USS Abraham Lincoln, dropped more than 350,000 lb. of ordnance with a 98% success rate. The squadron averaged more than 55 flight hours per day. Two additional squadrons, an F/A-18E and an F/A-18F, joined the conflict later on the USS Nimitz.

Another sign the aircraft is moving from its development status into an operational role is that later this year the U.S. Navy will move its first F/A-18F squadron to Japan to be permanently based there. The squadron would support the permanently forward-deployed USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier. The first F/A-18E squadron is likely to follow soon thereafter.

Key to the transition is the fact that subsystems vital to the F/A-18E/F's ability to perform its missions are maturing. One critical milestone occurred earlier this year with the successful completion of operational testing for the ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) sensor. The passing grade and decision to proceed with full-rate production represents a turnaround for the Raytheon effort, which was mired in development problems to the point that Navy acquisition officials considered pursuing other options.

During its first operational deployment, ATFLIR also experienced serious reliability problems. However, engineers blamed those on pre-production development hardware that had been rushed to the field. A later deployment with early production pods did not experience the same shortcomings, Navy officials stress.

One ATFLIR competitor noted that for the sensor to pass its operational evaluation, the Navy had to defer assessing some of the pod's features. The F/A-18 requirements chief, Cdr. Hal Murdock, acknowledged that some elements of the system remain to be certified, such as the laser spot tracker, electro-optical camera to see targets with no discernable thermal signature, and air-to-air functions. The follow-on test phase is slated for March.

The Navy plans to buy 574 ATFLIR pods, although that number could shrink as part of the service's plan to more closely link U.S. Marine Corps and Navy aviation elements. The bulk of the ATFLIRs will go to older F/A-18s, about 334, with 240 reserved for the F/A-18E/F fleet; 23 have already been delivered. However, the -18E/F gets its equipment first. In fact, Marine Corps F/A-18 representatives are trying to field a dozen Litening-2 targeting pods on their F/A-18Ds as a bridge.

Another critical component that underwent operational testing earlier this year is the Link-16 Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS). Although testers identified reliability shortfalls, those have undergone a "verification of correction of deficiencies" process, and the equipment is ready for full-rate production, says the Navy's F/A-18 program manager, Capt. Donald E. Gaddis. The test community will continue to work with the system but has recommended fleet introduction. MIDS also adds two encrypted digital voice channels. The feature is now available to two F/A-18C and three F/A-18E/F squadrons.

Murdock said Link-16, which allows the aircraft to share information with other aircraft, provides pilots with unprecedented situational awareness and the ability to track friendly forces. For instance, Link-16 Patriot air defense batteries will now be able to track aircraft with the data link, something that understandably interests Navy aviators after a Patriot PAC-3 battery during the Iraq war shot down a Navy F/A-18, killing the pilot.

Most recently, Navy test personnel gave a passing grade to the strike fighter's new self-protection techniques generator, the ALQ-214. Development problems forced the Navy to adopt a three-phase electronic warfare path for the F/A-18E/F. The ALQ-214 will replace the ALQ-165. The final step will be to replace the ALE-50 with a fiber-optic towed decoy, which is slated to commence testing in January 2006.

Several additional features are also on the horizon. Perhaps most notable is Raytheon's APG-79 radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA). Testing of the equipment has begun, with the hope of fielding the system by 2005. The AESA should allow F/A-18E/F crew to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions nearly simultaneously.

Also to deliver in 2005 is the aircraft's advanced crew station, which will allow the front- and backseater to operate different subsystems of the aircraft at the same time.

Both the AESA and advanced crew station are key elements of the Super Hornet's Block 2 configuration the Navy started buying last fiscal year. They take advantage of a mission computer and display upgrade that is in aircraft now being built. Boeing has also added manufacturing enhancements to the aircraft to drive the price down as part of its strategy to spur F/A-18E/F sales overseas.

Navy officials are still assessing the F/A-18E/F's performance during the war with Iraq, although the preliminary verdict has been positive. Murdock noted that in addition to the strike role, the aircraft was able to carry out the advertised tanker missions. F/A-18E/Fs flew more than 400 tanker sorties, Murdock said. The capability helped make up for a tanker shortage caused by a lack of U.S. Air Force assets to perform that role. Validating the F/A-18E/F as a tanker was critical for the Navy also because it is retiring the S-3s that have performed that mission in recent years.

Even with four aircraft dedicated to air-to-air refueling, one of the F/A-18E/F squadrons involved in the war with Iraq was able to deliver as much ordnance as a typical squadron of older F/A-18s, a testament to the carrying capability of the newer version, says Gaddis.

To help satisfy the fleet's huge appetite for intelligence, the service rushed two Sharp reconnaissance pods to the field even though the development program was incomplete. The pods were equipped only with a medium-altitude sensor without the data link or high-altitude sensor that are part of the baseline system, although both are now being fielded. Fleet operators were able to use the visual and infrared sensors in a "stereo" mode to find concealed targets. The pre-deployment status meant there was no established logistics support. Nevertheless, Murdock said, reliability of the device was high, and its resolution surpassed expectations. The service has a requirement for 50 Sharp systems, but so far has funded only 29. The formal operational evaluation is scheduled for April.

During Iraq operations, fleet users and the test community expressed concern about the reliability of the General Electric F414 engines (AW&ST Mar. 17, p. 46). But Murdock said frankly that "we have gotten all the reliability that we have paid for," noting that the service is still trying to find money to finance engine component enhancements.

GADDIS NOTED that the F414s were able to log more flight hours between repairs than the older F404s, with goals for further improvements. The Navy is considering pooling its F414 engine money--procurement, research and development, and maintenance accounts--into one funding line to give managers the flexibility to apply dollars where they are best spent. That move should allow the service to start financing the engine improvements. Moreover, General Electric will be responsible for depot turnaround time and thereby will be encouraged to improve the engine on its own.

The F/A-18E/F's ability to return to a carrier with more ordnance also demonstrated its worth in Iraq, Murdock noted, particularly as attacks shifted from assigned targets to time-sensitive targets. In the latter case, aircraft were launched without target assignments and loitered, waiting to be called in for strikes. But often the aircraft had to return without dropping ordnance. For older F/A-18s that would have meant dropping expensive weapons in the ocean before landing, but with the larger -18E/F the aircraft could return with their munitions to the ship.

The Navy also is looking to expand the types and combination of weapons that can be carried on the strike fighter, although those efforts are slowing slightly this year because of a lack of funding. However, in 2006, fleet users should receive the ability to drop 1,000-lb. GPS-guided Joint Direction Attack Munitions, followed two years later by the 500-lb. version. As part of the AESA program, the Navy in 2007 will field an advanced navigation package that will allow pilots to use the radar to improve the accuracy of the GPS-guided bombs.

Developers also are trying to determine how best to fit the F/A-18E/F into the Pentagon's emerging but yet ill-defined network-centric warfare architecture. The availability of Link-16 represents a first step, but later in this decade service officials expect to start integrating the Joint Tactical Radio System into the fighter, the Pentagon's new software programmable radio that is to be fielded throughout the U.S. military

But the near-term focus for the service isn't further enhancements, but fielding the equipment now ready as quickly as possible. Asked what he would do if more money were to become available, Murdock pointed to accelerated fielding of the AESA and ATFLIR and faster weapons integration.

As to the basic manufacturing program, the Navy this year plans to award Lot 27 of the production run, which would deliver in 2006. The service has taken delivery of about 143 Super Hornets out of a planned buy of 552. That number includes 90 EA-18G "Growlers," the electronic attack derivative slated to replace EA-6B support jammers. System development for the jammer version is to begin this fiscal year, with the first aircraft to deliver in 2009. Pentagon acquisition leaders are to review the Navy's EA-18G plans next month, which Navy representatives hope will allow them to start the formal development phase.

cavsg SG

marines intend to test their litening pod on harriers for a/a (no time frame given), super hornet will test the atflir in march next year.

Laplace SG

I think there is a very good reason why European aircraft manfacturers are installing passive tracking suits at the front of the cockpit, behind the nose cone even though these fourth-generation aircrafts come with their own outstanding ground targeting pods with full FLIR capabilities (Eurofighter with TIALD, GRIPEN with Litening II ER and Rafale with Damocles)

Does anyone know whether the position of a FLIR affect the aircraft's passive tracking capabilities in air to air combat? I always thought that the FLIR of targeting pods like LANTIRN and Litening are inherently unsuitable for air to air combat.

cavsg SG

F/A-18 First to Get Future Aargm Weapon
Aviation Week & Space Technology
11/24/2003, page 46

Robert Wall
Washington

New missile targets deployment on F/A-18s; EA-6B Prowler status in doubt

DEAD On

Eager to see their latest fighter equipped with one of its newest weapons, U.S. Navy planners are calling for integration of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile on the F/A-18E/F almost in parallel with the aircraft at the core of the missile development program, the F/A-18C/D.

The Pentagon still is trying to sort out exactly which aircraft will employ the in-development anti-radar weapon. Because of the high interest in having F/A-18E/Fs use the missile, the Navy "is planning parallel path integration," says Navy program manager Capt. Mark Converse. The service also will integrate it into its future jammer, the EA-18G "Growler." The F/A-18C/D is serving as the formal launch platform because it was used during a technology demonstration in recent years, making it the lowest risk, lowest cost aircraft on which to integrate Aargm, added Lt. Cdr. Carlos Rippe, who oversees Aargm's development.

Still unresolved is whether the EA-6B Prowler will fire the weapon. The Navy is retiring its Prowlers around the time Aargm will be fielded, although the Marine Corps still plans to use the standoff jammer for several years. Also, the weapon won't be integrated on any U.S. Air Force fighters. Its length--the same as the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM)--also precludes internal carriage on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although a motor upgrade being explored by the Navy could shrink the total size, allowing internal fit.

Development of Aargm began this summer after a successful three-year, multi-shot technology demonstration during which the core functions of the Alliant Techsystems-designed enhancements were validated. The two key features are a dual-mode sensor enhancement and the Quick Bolt communi- cations link that allows the weapon to receive from off-board sources signals intelligence cues about a threat and to broadcast its status moments before impact to provide rudimentary battle damage assessment.

The dual-mode sensor integrates a passive radar seeker that has greater frequency coverage than HARM's. Moreover, a millimeter wave seeker is used for terminal guidance to ensure a radar site can be struck even if the radar is shut down. For mid-course guidance, the weapon is equipped with a GPS-aided inertial navigation system to cure HARM's problem of going off course once a targeted emitter is shut down. "You just hoped it stayed in the country you shot it at," says Lt. Cdr. Al Mousseau, a Navy anti-radar weapons officer for the test unit VX-31. The Aargm features should turn HARM from a suppression to a destruction-of-enemy-air-defense (DEAD) weapon, Converse noted.

The enhanced missile will also allow planners to program "keep out" areas into a weapon to ensure it doesn't strike a populated area. It should also curtail friendly fire incidents, a greater possibility now that the U.S. could fight alongside new NATO members who use Soviet-era air defense equipment that is also used by such countries as Iran and North Korea.

Alliant Techsystems received the Aargm system development and demonstration contract in June, and should have brassboard hardware available for flight testing late next year using a King Air. Moreover, Rippe said the Navy will take the millimeter wave seeker to the combined Army and USAF Chicken Little munitions test and evaluation facility where extensive seeker testing can be conducted. The goal is to assess the seeker's performance against various targets to help write discrimination algorithms.

Captive flight testing on the F/A-C/D will begin in 2006. Plans call for 20 firings, starting in 2007. Seven shots will be taken in the development test phase, with two more for the operational assessment and 11 for operational testing to prove system performance before full-rate production. The fundamental performance characteristics of Aargm won't change significantly from the demoed version, although the final product will be "more robust" with the ability to operate over a larger frequency spectrum and against more targets, developers note.

AGM-88Es will use existing HARMs that are no longer needed. The internal changes take place in the nose and control section. The weapon is slated to be in service around late 2009.

The U.S. Navy launched the Aargm system development and demonstration phase earlier this year after a series of flight tests to validate the weapon's performance.

Alliant Techsystems representatives are mulling the application of Aargm elements for other purposes, as well. For instance, out-of-service HARMs could be recertified and upgraded with just the millimeter wave sensor, making for a relatively cheap, high-speed air-to-ground weapon, one senior company official said.

Separately, the Navy also is funding Atlantic Research Corp. to develop a variable-flow, ducted rocket ramjet that boosts HARM's range to 100 mi. from about 80 mi. and cruise speed to about Mach 3.5 from Mach 2. The motor used in the Office of Naval Research-sponsored High-Speed Anti-Radiation Demonstration should also shorten the missile's length. First flight testing of the weapon is expected late next year or in early 2005. If successful, the Navy may use the effort as a springboard for a further HARM enhancement, although other options exist such as developing a different type of high-speed weapon.

In parallel, the Navy is continuing to field various software enhancements for HARMs in use in the U.S. and other countries. The focus is on staying abreast with electronic intelligence gathered about an adversary's air defenses. [/b]

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