F-18 super hornet armed with AN/APG 79 AESA radar + Amraam + Helmet-Mounted Cueing System and Raytheon AIM-9X next generation Sidewinder air-to-air missile can more than hold its own against the PLAAF.
You have to understand the stringent requirements of carrier borne aircraft. One of the main issues is the "bringback capability". For safety reasons, an aircraft can only bring a certain number of its armed payload back to the carrier when it lands. For example, the F14 can carry up to 6 Phoenix but it is not allowed to land on the carrier with those missiles on its payload. Why, because of weight and safety issues. So those extra missiles needs to be jetissoned for the plane to get back. That can get very expensive.
The F-18 E/F is also only about 25% larger than the C/D models but boast a much lower radar cross section. It is also highly upgradable. Currently, block 2 upgrades are being retrofitted to the fleet.
Here is another great article about it.
The Super Hornet is substantially a new aircraft, which shares only limited structural commonality with the F/A-18A-D family of fighters. While the F/A-18E/F forward fuselage is derived from the F/A-18C design, the wing, centre and aft fuselage, tail surfaces and powerplants are entirely new. The baseline avionic system is however largely derived from the F/A-18C, with planned growth through further evolved derivatives of the radar, EW and core avionic systems, and entirely new systems where appropriate.
The designation F/A-18E/F reflects the fact that the aircraft is derived from the F/A-18A-D, even if it is a significantly larger airframe design - the program was implemented as an Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) to avoid a costly demonstration program and fly-off, as has occurred with the F-22/YF-23 and JSF. A side effect of this idiosyncrasy in nomenclature is that the F/A-18E/F is frequently dismissed as `just another Hornet', yet the aircraft is different in many respects.
From a design perspective, the most notable change in the Super Hornet is its size, designed around an internal fuel (JP5) capacity of 14,700 lb, or 36% more than the F/A-18C/E. This most closely compares to the F-15C, which has around 10% less internal fuel than the Super Hornet.
Sizing around a 36% greater internal fuel load, with the aim of retaining the established agility performance of the F/A-18C, resulted in a larger wing of 500 sqft area, against the 400 sqft area of the F/A-18C, a 20% increase. The consequent sizing changes result in a 30,885 lb empty weight (31,500 lb basic weight) aircraft, a 30% increase against the F/A-18C. Not surprisingly, the aircraft's empty weight is 8% greater than the F-15C, reflecting the structural realities of catapult launches and tailhook recoveries.
The larger F414 engine, a refanned and evolved F404 variant, delivers 20,700 lb static SL thrust in afterburner, which is around 8% less than the F100-PW-220 in the F-15C.
The simplest metric of the F/A-18E/F is that it is an F-15A-D sized F/A-18C derivative, optimised for the naval environment. The similarity in size between the F/A-18E/F and F-15A-D is no coincidence - as the original VFAX studies in the 1960s and 1970s showed, this is the optimal fighter size for the given combat radius. In effect, the F/A-18E/F is what the F/A-18A Hornet should have been from the outset, had it not been hobbled at birth by a budget driven bureaucracy.
Size is where the similarity between the Super Hornet and Eagle end, since the Super Hornet is optimised aerodynamically around the F/A-18A-D configuration, with a focus on transonic manoeuvre and load carrying performance, and carrier recovery characteristics. In terms of raw performance, the Super Hornet is very similar to the F/A-18C, but provides significantly better CAP endurance and operating radius by virtue of its larger wing and internal fuel load.
With three 480 USG drop tanks, full internal fuel, combat and reserve fuel allowances, 8 x AIM-120 AMRAAMs and 2 x AIM-9 Sidewinders, the aircraft has a point intercept radius in excess of 650 NMI, with some assumptions made about expended missiles. This is radius performance in the class of the F-15C.
Like the F/A-18A-D, the F/A-18E/F was designed from the outset for a dual role fighter bomber mission environment. The enlarged wings have three hardpoints each, typically loaded with a pair of 480 USG tanks inboard and weapons on the pair of outboard stations. The wingtip Sidewinder rail is retained.
A notable aerodynamic feature is a significantly enlarged strake design over the baseline Hornet, intended to improve vortex lifting characteristics in high AoA manoeuvre, and reduce the static stability margin to enhance pitching characteristics - Boeing cite pitch rates in excess of 40 degrees per second.
Structurally the Super Hornet is built largely from aluminium alloys, with extensive use of carbon fibre composite skins in the wings, and titanium in several critical areas. The design load factor limit of 7.5G is identical to the F/A-18A-D.
The most notable visual difference between the F/A-18A-D and F/A-18E/F, to the casual observer, are the engine inlets. These are are fixed in geometry, but using a rectangular geometry more akin to the F-15 design.
The inlets represent a key design optimisation intended to reduce the aircraft's forward sector radar cross section. The edge alignment of the inlet leading edges is designed to scatter radiation to the sides, and fixed `fanlike' reflecting structure in the inlet tunnel performs a role analogous to the mesh on the inlets of the F-117A, keeping microwave illumination off the rotating fan blades.
The F/A-18E aircraft makes considerable use of panel join serration and edge alignment. Close inspection of the aircraft shows considerable attention paid to the removal or filling of unnecessary surface join gaps and resonant cavities. Where the F/A-18A-D used grilles to cover various accessory exhaust and inlet ducts, the F/A-18E/F uses centimetric band opaque perforated panels. Careful attention has been paid to the alignment of many panel boundaries and edges, to scatter travelling waves away from the aircraft boresight.
It would be fair to say that the F/A-18E/F employs the most extensive radar cross section reduction measures of any contemporary fighter, other than the very low observable F-22 and planned JSF. While the F/A-18E/F is not a true stealth fighter like the F-22, it will have a forward sector RCS arguably an order of magnitude smaller than seventies designed fighters. Since every deciBel of RCS reduction counts until you get into the range of weapon payload RCS, the F/A-18E/F represents the reasonable limit of what is worth doing on a fighter carrying external stores. None of the RCS reduction features employed in the F/A-18E/F are visible on any of the three Eurocanards, which raises interesting questions about the relative forward sector RCS reduction performance of these types.
The Super Hornet employs a further evolved derivative of the F/A-18C avionic package. While the AN/APG-73 radar, common to the RAAF HUG, is retained, provisions will be made in production blocks for the AN/APG-79 (formerly AN/APG-73 RUG III phased array) Active Electronically Steered Array (AESA) retrofit. The new ATFLIR targeting pod will also be used, employing a new `midwave' 4-5 micron band Focal Plane Array high resolution imager.
APG-73 patch
The APG-73 provides very respectable air-ground modes, including synthetic aperture modes (depicted). With the capability to interleave MTI modes with surface mapping modes, the radar provides a potent capability against battlefield and maritime targets . The APG-79 active phased array radar (formerly APG-73 RUG III) is a planned growth feature for the F/A-18E/F family of fighters. It is derived from the baseline APG-73 by the replacement of the planar array antenna with a solid state Active Electronically Steered Antenna array. This will provide the radar with the ability to timeshare operating modes concurrently, as well as improving jam resistance and reducing detectibility through much reduced sidelobes .
The core avionic computing package is based upon militarised COTS VMEbus PowerPC processors (common to desktop Apple PowerMacs and recently built F-15Es), which are of the order of a hundred times more powerful than the 16-bit generation AN/AYK-14 processors in the F/A-18C. This is a significant advancement in long term supportability, and provides a very robust platform for evolution of the onboard software OFPs. The cockpit software is highly integrated by the standards of Mil-Std-1553B bussed architectures, and provides facilities for display fusion of MIDS datalink, RWR threat information and digital moving map displays.
While the preproduction aircraft employ a mix of cockpit CRT and AMLCD displays, the intent is to employ high resolution NVG compatible AMLCD panels in production block aircraft. A strike optimised `missionised' aft cockpit with a large 10 x 8 inch AMLCD display is in development. The JHMCS Helmet Mounted Display will be employed to cue the new thrust vectoring AIM-9X missile, with growth to cue air to surface weapons.
The EWSP package is build around a late model ALR-67 warning receiver, the now revived ALQ-165 ASPJ defensive jammer, supplemented by the ALE-50 towed decoy and ALE-47 dispenser. Current growth plans include the ALQ-214 RF countermeasures package and ALE-55 fibre optic towed decoy from the IDECM suite. The latter is particularly effective against newer monopulse threat systems, since it can provide for long baseline crosseye jamming.
The current configuration of the F/A-18E/F avionic package is the most advanced of any production aircraft based upon a Mil-Std-1553B bussed federated architecture, and is surpassed only by the much newer F-22A and JSF architectures. It is very likely that growth variants of the F/A-18E/F will see the progressive incorporation of avionics technology used in the JSF.
In terms of broad comparisons, the F/A-18E/F most closely compares to the late model F-15 variants. While it does not have the supersonic optimised wing and top end BVR combat and supersonic agility performance of APG-63(V)2 phased array fitted F-15C models, it has a more recent avionic package, radar cross section reduction measures absent on the F-15 and a very modern defensive EW package. In most key respects, the Super Hornet is a substantial improvement over the established F/A-18A-D models, especially in combat radius performance. While the aircraft is frequently criticised for not offering a dazzling supersonic agility and thrust/weight performance increase over the baseline F/A-18C, this was not a primary design objective. Rather, the aim was to provide a low risk near term growth aircraft exploiting the established technology investment in the F/A-18C, and utilising newer technologies such as RCS reduction, integrated MIDS datalink and advanced countermeasures to improve the aircraft's survivability and lethality without the cost penalties of a clean sheet new design.
At this time Boeing and the USN have planned growth paths for the basic aircraft in avionics and weapons, and a new engine derived from the F-22/JSF technology base is seen to be an attractive addition, but as yet is unfunded. Considerable development has also been committed to an electronic combat derivative of the F/A-18F, colloquially termed the `F/A-18G'. This aircraft would replace the EA-6B Prowler, which is often considered too slow to keep up with strike packages, with a fully combat capable escort jammer and HARM shooter. The `Airborne Electronic Attack Variant' F/A-18F derivative would employ wing tip pods with receiver equipment, a mission avionics package in the M-61 gun bay, and a mixed payload of AN/ALQ-99 derivative high power support jamming pods and AGM-88 HARM or derivative anti-radiation missiles. This aircraft would in concept most closely resemble a fusion of the F-4G Weasel and EF-111A/EA-6B models into a single type, which would retain most of the multirole capabilities of the basic F/A-18F aircraft.
The use of a buddy refuelling pod in conjunction with four 480 USG wing tanks is envisaged as a standard role for the F/A-18E/F, to provide a tactical tanking lost with the KA-6D. As the last KS-3 Viking tankers will soon be out of life, the F/A-18E/F is likely to become the sole tanker asset available to carrier airwings. Unlike the KA-6D and KS-3, it is not going to be an easy kill for an opposing fighter force, and since it is substantially faster it will be much more effective in reactive or emergency refuelling situations.
In terms of meeting the USN's aim for a low risk F-14/A-6 and F/A-18A-D replacement, in a timescale and budget compatible with current circumstances, and prior to the production of the high risk high payoff full stealth JSF, the F/A-18E/F clearly meets this objective.
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