U.S. Navy's new F/A-18Es are showing
surprising reliability and added endurance
ROBERT WALL/USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE PERSIAN GULF AW&ST
U.S. strike planners are still learning how best to fit the F/A-18E
Super Hornet into their air plans, although the lack of a modern,
operationally ready targeting pod will essentially keep the
aircraft from participating in attacks on mobile targets.
Nine months into the F/A-18E's maiden deployment, U.S. Navy
officials are generally upbeat about the performance of their
newest strike fighter. "This airplane has delivered in all areas as
advertised, if not a little bit better," said Cdr. Dale Horton,
executive officer for the Lincoln's F/A-18E squadron,
VFA-115.
But that doesn't mean the deployment has been without setbacks. For
instance, the Navy found that its three Advanced Targeting Flir
(Atflir) pods aren't yet reliable enough for operational use. The
pods are still in development and were rushed to the field, so
there were questions from the outset about their performance.
Those early concerns turned out to be accurate. The pods' cameras
are unreliable, and the system suffers from inaccuracies in the
targeting laser, forcing VFA-115 to rely on the older and less
capable Nite Hawk it also brought on deployment. But the Nite
Hawk's imaging sensor isn't deemed good enough to identify moving
targets, so F/A-18E pilots will likely be limited to attacking
stationary targets using either laser-guided or GPS-guided
munitions.
One problem with Atflir was that its pre-production status meant
there was no training system for technicians to learn from, noted
Lt. Cdr. Bruce Brosch, the air wing's maintenance officer. There
also was no established spare parts supply. Despite these hurdles,
the availability rates were higher than some expected, said Capt.
Scott Swift, the deputy air wing commander.
Although the Pentagon's operational test community last year
expressed concern about using pre-deployment Atflir and other
immature systems, Navy officials argued that operational needs
justified the move. Now Navy officials feel encouraged by what they
have seen from Atflir. The imagery was of high quality, and when
the system reaches desired reliability rates, it should allow
F/A-18E/Fs to attack moving targets, Horton said.
The Atflir problems revealed on the Lincoln appear to have been
largely overcome with the next generation of pods that are on the
USS Nimitz, which is now deploying to the Middle East with another
F/A-18E squadron and the first operationally deployed two-seat
F/A-18Fs. Reports from the Nimitz's carrier air wing 11 (CVW-11)
note the laser is now operational and the infrared and
electro-optical images are ........