Australia Begins Super Hornet Study As F-35 Slide Continues

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Australia Begins Super Hornet Study As F-35 Slide Continues
By Guy Norris

February 25, 2013
Credit: RAAF

Amid continuing uncertainty over delays to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Australian government has opened up a long-anticipated study with the U.S. into the “potential purchase” of 24 additional Boeing F/A-18E/F aircraft.

Although the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) remains officially committed to the Lockheed Martin F-35, the Australian government plans to consider doubling the size of the Super Hornet fleet, signaled in a letter of request to the U.S. government. This is expected to raise fresh questions over Australia’s level of commitment to the F-35 and the final number of aircraft it will acquire.

Confirming the request in comments made to the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Defense Minister Stephen Smith says, “We placed a letter of request (LOR) with the United States authorities to enable us to investigate the potential purchase of up to 24 more Super Hornets.” Smith adds the F-35 “has been subject to very serious scheduling delays and that’s what’s causing us to risk a gap in capability…. We’re now looking not just to the Super Hornets (covering a) gap in capability, but whether into the longer term it makes sense for Australia to have a mixed fleet — a mixed fleet of Super Hornets, Growlers and Joint Strike Fighters, which is what you essentially see the United States Navy… embarking upon.”

The last of 24 Super Hornets was delivered to the RAAF by Boeing in late 2011. In early 2012, Australia announced a A$19 million contract for long-lead items to convert 12 of the newly-delivered F/A-18Fs into EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The decision was not unexpected, as the aircraft had earlier been provisioned for the Growler role on the Boeing production line in St. Louis under a separate A$35 million deal. It is not known if the next batch, if approved, will include additional Growlers or aircraft provisioned for modification for electronic attack, though the LOR is believed to cover a mix of both single-seat ‘E’ and two-seat ‘F’ versions.