US Navy Buys Additional Super Hornets and Clears the Way for EA-18G Development

Released on Monday, December 29, 2003

The US Navy awarded Boeing a $8.6 billion multiyear procurement contract for 210 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft and a $1 billion contract for System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the EA-18G airborne Electronic Attack aircraft.

Under the terms of the multiyear contract, the US Navy will purchase 42 F/A-18E/Fs in each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2009 with 6 additional aircraft per year as option.

Deliveries of the second multiyear aircraft procurement contract to the US Navy will begin in fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year through 2011, totaling 432 F/A-18E/Fs delivered through two multiyear procurement contracts (2000-2004 and 2005-2009). To date, approximately 170 F/A-18E/Fs have been delivered to the US Navy under the first Super Hornet multiyear procurement contract.

According to the US Navy, the Super Hornet multiyear procurement contract approach has saved to the US taxpayers about $1.75 billion.

The EA-18G SDD contract runs from fiscal year 2004 until early fiscal year 2009 encompassing all laboratory, ground test, and flight tests from component level testing through full-up EA-18G weapons system performance flight testing.

The EA-18G electronic attack aircraft, the replacement for the EA-6B Prowler, will be able to carry up to 5 ALQ-99 jamming pods, two AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and two AGM-88 HARM missiles for enemy air defenses suppression.

The EA-18G aircraft will play standoff and escort jamming missions as well as to perform time critical strike missions targeting support.