F-18E/F "Super Hornet" fighter
F-18E/F "Super Hornet" fighter (Super Hornet) is currently the main air superiority carrier-based aircraft of the U.S. Navy. Each aircraft carrier is equipped with 4 tactical strike squadrons, each The squadron is equipped with 12 F-18E/F fighters. Although the Navy version of the F-35C has been put into service, the number is still far from enough, so the "Super Hornet" is still the top choice of the U.S. Navy.
Replaced the F-14 as the main force of U.S. aircraft carrier air defense
Due to the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the overall budget of the U.S. Navy was significantly reduced. The A-12 "Avenger II" stealth attack aircraft was severely overrun due to budget overruns, overweight, and repeated development delays. The entire R&D program was terminated.
The F-14 fighter jets in service at the time were not in line with the trend of the 21st century due to cost and performance. The US military had no intention of upgrading the huge F-14 fleet, but the US Navy was exploring When it was the first generation of main carrier-based aircraft, in order to match the budget and take into account the powerful bomb load and combat radius of the F-14 fighter, it was decided to improve the F-18C/D, which resulted in the F-18E/F "Super Bumblebee".
Hornet and Super Hornet
In terms of body design, the F-18E/F has as many as five wing pylons. In addition to becoming the main force of fleet air defense, it is also capable of air combat, naval combat and supporting ground forces.
In order to increase the combat radius and efficiency, the fuel carrying capacity of the F-18E/F was increased from 14,440 pounds to 17,747 pounds for the C/D type. At the same time, the back of the aircraft was modified to pretend to be a " conformal fuel tank " to increase fuel In terms of carrying capacity, the inlets on both sides of the were also revised and changed to "Carter inlet (swept double-slope supersonic inlet)".
Comparison of the air intakes of the Hornet and Super Hornet.
Compared with the F-18C/D, the "Super Hornet" radar cross-section is smaller, and it is equipped with Raytheon's APG-79 (V) 4 active phased array radar, which improves its air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. strengthen.
In terms of weapon mounting, the F-18E/F under-wing pylons can be flexibly adjusted according to the mission. AIM-120, AIM-9, and AIM-7 can all be mounted. Since the wing surface is approximately longer than that of the F-18C/D 25%. It also has more room for choice in terms of fuel and weapon carrying, and has stronger beyond-visual-range combat capabilities. Since 2001, more than 600 F-18E/Fs have been in service with the U.S. Navy. With the addition of F-35C fighters , a combination of "traditional + stealth fighters" has gradually formed.
F-35C and two F/A-18E/ F Super Hornet
Faced with the high cost and slow mass production speed of the F-35C fighter, the F-18E/F will still be the most important air superiority and sea control aircraft in the US carrier-based air wing. According to the 2018 U.S. Air Force According to information released by the Ministry of Defense, the hourly operating cost of the F-18E/F is approximately US$11,475, and that of the EA-18G is US$10,618, which is much lower than the F-35C's approximately US$18,501. In addition, as a mature model, the F-18E/F also has a very high combat readiness rate, which further deepens the US military's trust and dependence on it.
Upgraded version of Block 3 increases service life
Since the unit price of the carrier-based version of the F-35 is still high, the U.S. Navy will upgrade the F-18E/F again. It is expected that the new Block 3 can serve until 2030 or 2040, and the new This version is also known as the F-18 Advanced Super Hornet.
Advanced Super Hornet, with a closed weapons pod mounted on the belly. The
upgrade plan has been implemented since 2013. The basic improvements include: installing two "conformal fuel tanks" with a capacity of up to 3,500 pounds (1,590 kg) on the back of the aircraft, extending the range of the F-18E/F to 3,500 kilometers, significantly Increase its combat radius.
Conformal fuel tank on the back
Although the F-18E/F Block 3 itself is not a stealth fighter, in order to improve battlefield survivability and technological advantages, in addition to the simpler design of the aircraft model, stealth weapon bays can also be mounted on the centerline and wings of the fighter. , increasing the amount of ammunition mounted and increasing its mission flexibility. In principle, the stealth bomb bay can carry AIM-120 and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles, as well as precision bombs such as JDAM and SDB, which can reduce the radar signal of the entire fighter plane by another 50% and greatly improve its battlefield survivability rate.
The optimized machine gun muzzle and angle of attack sensors can reduce the radar cross-sectional area.
In addition, in order to increase the service life of the fighter aircraft, the "Advanced Super Hornet" fighter aircraft has a flight life of up to 9,000 hours. The early 350 F-18E/F Block 2 fighters only had about 6,000 hours. As long as a small number of new models are purchased, it can The F-18E/F continues to be in service.
Data antenna to enhance situational awareness and communication capabilities.
Furthermore, in order to enable the "Advanced Super Hornet" fighter aircraft to adapt to changes in the battlefield, the aircraft is equipped with Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) and Distributed Targeting Processor Network (DTP-N), which can improve the performance of the aircraft on the battlefield. Processing speed and efficiency of complex messages.
F414-GE-EPE upgraded version.
In order to increase the power of the "Advanced Hornet Fighter", the engine uses the F414-GE-EPE upgraded version produced by GE. Its thrust even reaches 120 kilonewtons ( J-15 is a heavy-duty carrier-based aircraft, with a maximum thrust of 135 kilonewtons per unit. (Niu), which can increase thrust by at least 20% and have higher fuel efficiency. It can also be converted into a tanker to increase endurance for wingmen.
In March 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the purchase of 78 newly upgraded version F/A-18E/F Block 3 fighters from Boeing for US$4 billion. In principle, the "Super Hornet" will still be seen in the next 10 to 20 years. figure.
The third generation Bumblebee.
Second-hand Super Hornets are still in high demand
Recently, the Australian government has retired some F/A-18E/Fs early due to the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. The Canadian military has taken over the purchase of 18 second-hand "Super Hornet" fighter jets.
In Europe, Boeing F/A-18E/F and Typhoon are competing, trying to grab Germany's big order to replace its Tornado fighter jets. According to German media reports, the current situation seems to be beneficial to the Americans. Because it may take 3-5 years longer for the "Typhoon" fighter aircraft to obtain certification to carry nuclear weapons than the F/A-18E/F. Germany has about 80 "Tornado" fighters, some of which are equipped with nuclear weapons. Implement NATO's "nuclear weapons sharing" policy.
In March 2018, the Kuwaiti government decided to purchase 28 F-18E/F "Super Hornet" fighter jets from Boeing at a price of US$1.2 billion to replace the original "Hornet" fleet. This will allow Boeing's production line to continue until 2025.
Before the F-35C is fully put into service, the "Super Hornet" will still be the main killer of the U.S. Navy. This also means that the United States will have a number of retired fighters looking for buyers in the next few years. F/A-18E/F cost comparison High, it may become a hot commodity as the US military gradually replaces it.
There are too many data slots in the World Wide Web arsenal, and the chart is updated.
The upgraded "Advanced Hornet Fighter" will make up for the range gap with the J-15. Moreover, with many years of actual combat experience, there is no doubt that it will become a strong enemy of the J-15.
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