Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

Role	Carrier-based multirole fighter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space & Security
First flight	29 November 1995
Introduction	1999
Status	In service, in production
Primary users	United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force
Produced	1995–present
Number built	500 as of April 2011[1]
Program cost	Total procurement: US$48.09 billion (through FY2011)[2]
Unit cost	US$66.9 million (2012 flyaway cost)

General characteristics

• Crew: F/A-18E: 1, F/A-18F: 2
• Length: 60 ft 1¼ in (18.31 m)
• Wingspan: 44 ft 8½ in (13.62 m)
• Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
• Wing area: 500 ft² (46.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 32,081 lb (14,552 kg)
• Loaded weight: 47,000 lb (21,320 kg) (in fighter configuration)
• Max. takeoff weight: 66,000 lb (29,937 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans
  • Dry thrust: 13,000 lbf (62.3 kN) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 22,000 lbf (97.9 kN) each
• Internal fuel capacity: F/A-18E: 14,400 lb (6,780 kg), F/A-18F: 13,550 lb (6,354 kg)
• External fuel capacity: 5 × 480 gal tanks, totaling 16,380 lb (7,381 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.8+^[13] (1,370 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
• Range: 1,275 nmi (2,346 km) clean plus two AIM-9s^[13]
• Combat radius: 390 nmi (449 mi, 722 km) for interdiction mission^[118]
• Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,070 mi, 3,330 km)
• Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,000+ m)
• Rate of climb: 44,882 ft/min^[119] (228 m/s)
• Wing loading: 94.0 lb/ft² (459 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.93
• Design load factor: 7.6 g^[45]

Armament

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan nose mounted gatling gun, 578 rounds
• Hardpoints: 11 total: 2× wingtips, 6× under-wing, and 3× under-fuselage with a capacity of 17,750 lb (8,050 kg) external fuel and ordnance
• Missiles:
  
  • Air-to-air missiles:
    • 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or 4× AIM-120 AMRAAM, and
    • 2× AIM-7 Sparrow or additional 2× AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • Air-to-surface missiles:
    • AGM-65 Maverick
    • Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM-ER)
    • AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation missile
    • AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
    • AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)
  • Anti-ship missile:
    • AGM-84 Harpoon
• Bombs:
  
  • B61 or B83 nuclear bomb
  • JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)
  • Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
  • Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
  • CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
  • CBU-78 Gator
  • CBU-97
  • Mk 20 Rockeye II
• Others:
  • SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or
  • Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod or
  • AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR Targeting pods or
  • up to 3× 330 U.S. gallon (1,200 L) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time or
  • 1× 330 U.S. gal (1,200 L) tank and 4× 480 U.S. gal (1,800 L) tanks for aerial refueling system (ARS).

Avionics

• Hughes APG-73 or Raytheon APG-79 Radar
• Northrop Grumman/ITT AN/ALE-165 self-protection jammer pod or BAE Systems AN/ALE-214 integrated defensive electronic countermeasures system
• Raytheon AN/ALE-50 or BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 towed decoy
• Northrop Grumman AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver
• MIDS LVT or MIDS JTRS datalink transceiver