“Block III, we’re excited to see, is funded in the FY18 budget—just under $265 million to support the development of the Block III capabilities.”
Unlike Boeing’s previous Advanced Super Hornet concept that made its debut in 2013, the new Block III aircraft is a more modest proposition that is designed to support the rest of the air wing including the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and the EA-18G Growler under the service Naval Integrated Fire Control Counter Air construct (NIFC-CA).
The Block III takes the existing upgrade path for the Super Hornet—including biennial hardware and software upgrades—and expands upon those. Indeed, some of the existing planned upgrades to the jet’s powerful Raytheon AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar, AN/ALQ-214 Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) Block IV suite and the Lockheed Martin AN/ASG-34 Infrared Search and Track pod are part of the Block III package.
“That IRST sensor is a key capability Super Hornet brings to the carrier air wing that nobody else has,” Gillian said.
“It is a counter-air, counter-stealth targeting capability.”
Boeing and Navy plan to add five additional new features to the Super Hornet to round out the overall Block III package. That includes a set of conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) that will fit atop the F/A-18E/F’s fuselage, which would extend the Super Hornet’s range by roughly 120 nautical miles. The Block III aircraft would also come off the production line with a 9000-hour life airframe right from the outset. Boeing will also add some improvements to the Super Hornet’s low observables technology—though not as extensively as their 2013 effort that reduced the F/A-18E/F radar cross section by more than half.
“Buying more stealth didn’t make much sense,” Gillian said.
“Buying a networked fighter made a ton of sense.”
The Block III will also have a powerful new computer in the form of the Distributed Targeting Processor- Networked (DTP-N) and powerful high-band connectivity in the guise of the Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) Internet protocol-based datalink. Additionally, the jet will receive a new advanced cockpit system with a 10-by-19 inch display and new crew interfaces in both cockpits.
“It’s about making the Super Hornet a smart node on the Navy’s network,” Gillian said.
