Super Hornet News

[Penguin]

DATE:18/02/10
SOURCE:Flight International

Australia plans for longer service life with Super Hornet fleet
By Siva Govindasamy

Australia envisages that its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, which will begin entering service from March, could become a "long bridge" for an air force capability gap, and remain operational well into the 2030s.

Canberra has ordered 24 of the two-seat aircraft to cover a capability shortfall between the retirement of the Royal Australian Air Force's General Dynamics F-111s by year-end and the induction of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, projected to take place from 2014.

However, they could stay in use much longer, says Gp Capt Steve Robertson, head of the service's air combat transition wing and officer commanding the Super Hornet wing.

"The aircraft is on time, on budget and over-delivering on capability," says Robertson. "The Super Hornet is giving us flexibility and options, and will be combat-relevant up to the next generation. While we have forecast that they will be operational up until the 2020s, the US Navy plans to use them until the 2030s and there is no reason why we can't do the same."

Australia is due to take delivery of around four Super Hornets in the first quarter and 12 in total this year, when it also aims to declare initial operating capability. Its remaining aircraft, which will also be wired for possible conversion to the E/A-18G electronic-attack configuration, will be delivered by 2012.

With the RAAF already operating older F/A-18A/B Hornets, Robertson says the service has bought the "most easy platform that it could adapt to". The new model "has the same philosophy as the classic Hornets, but with more capability", he adds.

"The Super Hornet has increased performance and better flight sensor suites than anything in the Australian Defence Force. With Australia's network-centric capability it can perform a maritime strike role if needed, but it can also take on the air combat role. This is a true multirole fighter that it is built to perform almost any mission," says Robertson - one of the first Australians trained to fly the F/A-18F.

The RAAF's support model for the Super Hornet taps on the US Navy's capabilities, and Boeing says it is working with its launch export customer to develop the in-country systems needed to maintain its fleet.

"We have had to work out which roles are better for the RAAF and which are better for Boeing," says Robertson. "But that is a much better system than what we've had before."

With preparations for the type's introduction having run for more than a year, Robertson says the air force has learned several important lessons - some of which could be vital for potential other regional customers such as India and potentially Japan.

"There is a great deal to do to get everything ready - including the infrastructure and the workforce - to induct a new-generation multirole combat aircraft. The type of training and specialisation needed is totally different from, say, the F-111 or the classic Hornets. It requires a lot of work to ensure that we are prepared."

Engaging the community is also important, he points out, saying that officials from air base Amberley have been working with their neighbours to ensure that there is little impact from noise pollution.

"We have used the Super Hornet as a community consultation process," Robertson says. "A noise flightpath system is now in place, and we did that with them. Their support will be evident in a few weeks, when we believe several hundred of them will come out to welcome the aircraft."

[soultrain]

Ou seja, como sempre disse, se o Brasil opta-se pelo SH, receberia os primeiros em 2014 e seria (optimista) o único operador a partir de 2030.

Duração de 16 anos...

[[]]'s

[Thor]

E pra quem gosta dos SH, teremos um sobrevôo deles na baía da guanabara e Corcovado em um vôo para foto junto com os A-4 da MB. Não sei ao certo o dia, mas será entre 2 a 4 de março.
Abraços

[Carlos Lima]

E pra quem gosta dos SH, teremos um sobrevôo deles na baía da guanabara e Corcovado em um vôo para foto junto com os A-4 da MB. Não sei ao certo o dia, mas será entre 2 a 4 de março.
Abraços

Hehehe... legal

... para quem puder ver de perto, e puder esquecer um pouco o F-X, 'e uma aeronave e tanto... vale a pena

[]s
CB_Lima

[PRick]

E pra quem gosta dos SH, teremos um sobrevôo deles na baía da guanabara e Corcovado em um vôo para foto junto com os A-4 da MB. Não sei ao certo o dia, mas será entre 2 a 4 de março.
Abraços

Hehehe... legal

... para quem puder ver de perto, e puder esquecer um pouco o F-X, 'e uma aeronave e tanto... vale a pena

[]s
CB_Lima

De perto, como? Só de muito longe mesmo!

[]´s

[Penguin]

Novidades indianas:

As far as the transfer of source codes for AESA is concerned ... they are still at the "Can't discuss in an open forum ... lets see how this plays out" mode. At the same time, the fact that India has agreed to the US end user agreement during Hillary Clinton's visit here means that the full up Super Hornet IN ... inclusive of the upgraded GE F-414 engine, the APG 79 AESA and other key systems are cleared for transfer ... so its quite possible that the version of the AESA offered will be full-spec ... In fact, I am sure, India would not accept anything less than that ...

Secondly February 2010 is the big date for the IAF and the next phase of the Hornet trials ... There will be an evaluation of the following ...

1. Mission systems flight evaluation
2. AESA
3. FLIR
4. EW
5. Weapon delivery
6. Maintenance evaluation
7. Technical evaluation.

All this will be done at the Naval Air Station Lemoore in California, the same base from where I flew the second of my Super Hornet sorties.

Boeing reps repeatedly state that the AESA will be evaluated in conjunction with other systems ... ie ... the data link, FLIR etc to showcase the full package ...

As far as AESA is concerned ... the Boeing, Raytheon team seemed to take on their European rivals who are still developing/integrating their product. They explained how it took EIGHT years for the APG-79 to move from low rate initial production to first operational deployment. The dates are as follows ...

* June '03 ... Low rate initial production
* December '06 ... Operational evaluation completed.
*'07 ... Initial Operational clearance
* 07/'07 ... Full scale production approva
* 05/'08 ... First operational deployment.

The APG-79 has 1000 hours mean time between failures, more than 75,000 operational flight hours, its been approved for sale to India and will be sustained in US service beyond 2035.

The proposed GE F414 EPE (Enhanced Performance Engine) for India offers a 20 per cent increase in thrust and a 1 per cent reduction in fuel burn. The F414 is itself in the 22,000 lb thrust class, 170 lb/second airflow. Engine change is done in under 30 minutes, interchangeable left and right engine installation. No need for a functional check flight after engine change. No throttle restrictions while in operation (I have personally witnessed this ... its amazing ... you can pretty much do what you want with the throttle ... slam it to burner and take it back as much as you want ... nothing happens).

They WILL offer the Indian Air Force an out and out 9g fighter ... this has been a promise made by the Boeing team. I was led to believe this involves changes in the flight control system ... the airframe itself is OK for 9g.

The bottom line ... this is a rugged, proven, operational platform, which is now available to India at a cost NOT too much over its single engine competitors in the MMRCA race.

As far as their performance in the trials in Bangalore are concerned ... they say that they are satisfied with what they were able to demonstrate to the Indian Air Force but reiterate that its the IAF which has to be satisfied.

Thats it for the moment folks.

Vishnu Som
Associate Editor and Senior Anchor
New Delhi Television (NDTV)

[Penguin]

A Boeing-leased U.S. Navy F/A-18F set a new Super Hornet speed record in Bangalore Monday, during the opening day of flight evaluations in India’s highly coveted 126 aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.

The Super Hornet, flown by Boeing F/A-18 pilot Mike "Sting" Wallace and Weapons Systems Officer U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael "Spock" Chenoweth of VFA 122, hit a speed of 1.84 Mach, shattering the previous record of 1.76 Mach.

"Up in the control tower, they were looking (at the radar screens) in disbelief as it was happening," said Bret Marks, the F/A-18 program manager for India. "We were confident that when we got here we’d impress the Indian Air Force with the capabilities of the Super Hornet and setting a new speed record with the first flight set the stage."

Boeing Tech Fellow, Mike Heller, who persuaded the team it was possible, said India provided a rare chance to do a speed run.

"The engines perform best in the coldest air," said Heller. "And the air is coldest at 50,000 feet nearest the equator."

Besides Boeing, the other contenders are Lockheed Martin (F-16), EADS (Eurofighter), Saab (Gripen), Dassault (Rafale) and Mikoyan (MIG-35).

Boeing will wrap up its India based phase of the flight trials on August 28 after flying in hot desert conditions in Jaisalmer and the cold high altitude environment of the Himalayas.

bharat-rakshak.com

[Carlos Mathias]

1.84?
Que carroça! O SU-35BM faz isso em super-cruise.

[GDA_Fear]

O dia que aprenderem que super-trunfo não conta num T.O..... , mas super-cruise conta

[Bourne]

O caça rosa choque também não faz muito diferente

[PRick]

O caça rosa choque também não faz muito diferente

É o caça Bourne! Trata-se do Sea Gripen.

[]´s

[Bourne]

O caça rosa choque também não faz muito diferente

É o caça Bourne! Trata-se do Sea Gripen.

[]´s

Tudo a mesma m@#, isto é, fusca novo.

[bcorreia]

E pra quem gosta dos SH, teremos um sobrevôo deles na baía da guanabara e Corcovado em um vôo para foto junto com os A-4 da MB. Não sei ao certo o dia, mas será entre 2 a 4 de março.
Abraços

Bem que podiam fazer uma apresentação das bombas de precisão varrendo alguns esconderijos usados pelos meliantes que habitam as elevações geográficas da cidade.

[Makenshi]

O dia que aprenderem que super-trunfo não conta num T.O..... , mas super-cruise conta

Perguntas de leigo aspirante a manjador

O que é super trunfo e o que é T.O.?

Super cruise é quando entra nas velocidades MACH?

Quais são as MACH e o que exatamente elas significam? Só sei que é acima do som...

[Sterrius]

super trunfo é um joguinho de cartas que usam carros, aviões, animais etc e vc compara os dados. Vencia quem tinha o maior valor, por isso o povo aqui gosta de usar como piada ja que no jogo de carta o que conta é o valor, mas a realidade nao é tão simples .

Eu tenho até hoje o super trunfo de tanques e artilharia .

Supercruise é a capacidade de um avião passar de Mach 1 sem acionar os pós combustores.

Mach é a maneira de falar quantas vezes mais rapido (ou lento) que o som o avião ou objeto esta se locomevendo. Logo Mach 1 é exatamente a velocidade do som (1300 e pouco km/h se nao em engano).

T.O eu nao lembro