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Boeing and the U.S. Navy will demonstrate the recent enhancements to the Super Hornet “late this summer,” according to a Flight Global article.
Naval Air Systems Command Super Hornet program manager Capt. Frank Morley said the demonstration will feature the F/A-18E/F’s new “conformal fuel tanks and the weapons pod,” GE F414 engines and other enhancements.
Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18G program vice president Mike Gibbons said the Super Hornet upgrades will be conducted in Boeing facilities in St. Louis MO and moved to NASA at Patuxnet River, MD.
Gibbons said the enhanced F414 engines will have “more thrust” and increased speed from Mach 0.9 to Mach 1.4.
He added the enhancements could lead to $5 billion in savings.
Morley added the upgrades will also be added to future USN Super Hornet vehicles and EA-18G modernization efforts.
Boeing, Navy Confirm Super Hornet Demonstration this Summer; Frank Morley Comments
While it has been known for sometime that Boeing and the US Navy intend to fly a modified F/A-18F Super Hornet equipped with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and a weapons pod later this summer, some new details are emerging.
When the modified Rhino--as the Super Hornet is affectionately known--does fly in late August or early September over the Navy's Atlantic range with the new hardware, those CFTs and weapons pod will not be functional, says Mike Gibbons, Boeing's F/A-18 program manager. The idea is to test the aerodynamic qualities of those representative shapes, he says.
Mark Gammon, Boeing's Hornet advanced projects chief, also notes that the aircraft will have a mock-up of an internally-mounted infrared search and track system mounted along with a slew of radar cross-section enhancement measures.
Gammon, who has worked on the Hornet since the first days of the original F/A-18A classic model jets, says that the CFTs won't add any cruise drag at high subsonic speeds, but it will have a negative impact on drag at transonic speeds--but the company has done a lot of engineering work to try mitigate that. In fact, Gammon notes, at low airspeeds, sometimes overall drag with the CFTs is actually lower than a clean aircraft's.
Configured with the CFTs and weapons pod carrying four AMRAAMs, the jet performs roughly the same as a Super Hornet carrying four external AIM-120s.
Anyways, Boeing showed off this brand new real F/A-18F equipped with mockup CFTs, weapons pods and other hardware.
F/A-18F CFT & Weapons Pod mockup in St Louis
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/05/fa-18f-cft-weapons-pod-mockup.html
Naval Air Systems Command Super Hornet program manager Capt. Frank Morley said the demonstration will feature the F/A-18E/F’s new “conformal fuel tanks and the weapons pod,” GE F414 engines and other enhancements.
Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18G program vice president Mike Gibbons said the Super Hornet upgrades will be conducted in Boeing facilities in St. Louis MO and moved to NASA at Patuxnet River, MD.
Gibbons said the enhanced F414 engines will have “more thrust” and increased speed from Mach 0.9 to Mach 1.4.
He added the enhancements could lead to $5 billion in savings.
Morley added the upgrades will also be added to future USN Super Hornet vehicles and EA-18G modernization efforts.
Boeing, Navy Confirm Super Hornet Demonstration this Summer; Frank Morley Comments
While it has been known for sometime that Boeing and the US Navy intend to fly a modified F/A-18F Super Hornet equipped with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and a weapons pod later this summer, some new details are emerging.
When the modified Rhino--as the Super Hornet is affectionately known--does fly in late August or early September over the Navy's Atlantic range with the new hardware, those CFTs and weapons pod will not be functional, says Mike Gibbons, Boeing's F/A-18 program manager. The idea is to test the aerodynamic qualities of those representative shapes, he says.
Mark Gammon, Boeing's Hornet advanced projects chief, also notes that the aircraft will have a mock-up of an internally-mounted infrared search and track system mounted along with a slew of radar cross-section enhancement measures.
Gammon, who has worked on the Hornet since the first days of the original F/A-18A classic model jets, says that the CFTs won't add any cruise drag at high subsonic speeds, but it will have a negative impact on drag at transonic speeds--but the company has done a lot of engineering work to try mitigate that. In fact, Gammon notes, at low airspeeds, sometimes overall drag with the CFTs is actually lower than a clean aircraft's.
Configured with the CFTs and weapons pod carrying four AMRAAMs, the jet performs roughly the same as a Super Hornet carrying four external AIM-120s.
Anyways, Boeing showed off this brand new real F/A-18F equipped with mockup CFTs, weapons pods and other hardware.
F/A-18F CFT & Weapons Pod mockup in St Louis
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/05/fa-18f-cft-weapons-pod-mockup.html
