{"id":31268,"date":"2017-04-11T14:30:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-11T04:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=31268"},"modified":"2017-04-07T14:28:15","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T04:28:15","slug":"advanced-super-hornet-outmanoeuvre-us-navys-jsfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/advanced-super-hornet-outmanoeuvre-us-navys-jsfs\/","title":{"rendered":"Could an Advanced Super Hornet outmanoeuvre the US Navy\u2019s JSFs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A debate over the future of US naval fighter jets has been on a slow burn for months, but it\u2019s starting to heat up. There are reports that Boeing is surreptitiously marketing the F\/A-18XT<\/a> or \u2018Block III Super Hornet\u2019 to decision-makers in Washington via a one-page \u2018white paper<\/a>\u2019. The chain of events stretches back to at least December, when Donald Trump announced to the Twitterverse<\/a> that he\u2019d \u2018asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet\u2019 as an alternative to the F-35. (Though Boeing has had plans for a further evolution of the Super Hornet for several years.)<\/p>\n

The notion of a Super Hornet alternative to the F-35 Alpha or Bravo models for the Air Force and marines respectively was promptly (and rightly) squashed, but Defense Secretary Mattis ordered a review<\/a> of current plans for acquiring the F-35C carrier variant. The Pentagon\u2019s thinking about how much they\u2019re willing to pay for the extra capabilities afforded by the F-35C, and how many aircraft they need for the kinds of missions only an F-35 can do.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t find the white paper online (and it apparently doesn\u2019t have \u2018Boeing\u2019 branding), but as reported<\/a>, it suggests the USN could save US$8b in procurement costs by reducing the number of F-35Cs and making up the numbers with Block III Super Hornets<\/a>. Based on their cost estimates\u2014US$79m for an XT or US$120m for an F-35C\u2014that works out to a reduction from 340 to fewer than 150 F-35Cs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that even the most ambitious plans for the F-35C don\u2019t include replacing all the Navy\u2019s fighters. Each carrier air wing (CVW\u2014of which there are ten<\/a>) optimally includes four tactical fighter squadrons; currently one squadron of legacy Hornets and three of Super Hornets. The JSFs are initially intended to replace the legacy Hornets by 2028<\/a> and, under current plans, a second carrier squadron will be replaced with F-35Cs by 2033. The white paper appears to suggest capping F-35C numbers at just one squadron per CVW, plus spare and training aircraft, for a total of about 140 aircraft.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an altogether terrible idea. Cancelling the F-35C completely\u2014which has been mooted from time to time\u2014makes little sense. For air strikes on terrorists in Iraq\/Syria, older platforms are more than sufficient. But in a high end war, the F-35\u2019s stealth and situational awareness could make it an invaluable addition to the CVW\u2014especially in the first days of the war. \u00a0And, despite President Trump\u2019s comments to the contrary, making an aircraft stealthy isn\u2019t as simple as \u2018[putting] a stealth component onto it<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n

The F\/A-18XT looks essentially the same as the Advanced Super Hornet<\/a> demonstrator tested in 2013. It features conformal fuel tanks, improved sensors, new cockpit avionics and compatibility with the EA-18G Growler\u2019s jamming pods. But the XT appears to exclude the earlier demonstrator\u2019s \u2018stealthy\u2019 enclosed weapons pod. Being based on a well-established design, it\u2019d likely be less expensive than the F-35C.<\/p>\n

The latest low-rate F-35 production contract (LRIP-10) includes two F-35Cs at a flyaway cost of US$121.8m<\/a> each. The number of F-35Cs produced has been the lowest of the three variants, with just 47 aircraft ordered so far, including LRIP-10. As numbers ramp up it\u2019s likely that the cost will continue to come down<\/a>. Historical Super Hornet and Growler deliveries have had a flyaway cost of about US$70m each, but that\u2019s based on high production rates. The F\/A-18XT will be more expensive (additional capability always is), but by how much is unclear.<\/p>\n

If Boeing can deliver the F\/A-18XT at US$80m (which remains to be seen) and the F-35C price drops to US$100m (ambitious, but possible), the USN will have to decide if the F-35C\u2019s capability is worth the extra US$20m unit price. They might well decide that it is, but that conclusion would be shakier if the cost difference is closer to US$40m\u2014and that\u2019s the thrust of Boeing\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

The F-35\u2019s operating costs will be higher than the Super Hornet\u2019s, due in part to its special stealth coating, but also its generally greater complexity. The white paper claims that the USN could save up to US$1.4b in annual operating costs by reducing the number of F-35Cs in favour of new Super Hornets.<\/p>\n

The white paper argues that total savings over 20 years could be as much as US$30b, freeing up finances for other important projects, like unmanned strike platforms<\/a>. Or the USN could simply invest in even more Super Hornets. They can\u2019t fit many more aircraft on a carrier deck, but if a real war breaks out, losses will need to be replaced.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that the Super Hornet can\u2019t compete with the F-35A, which could cost less than US$85m<\/a> each by 2020. And the F-35B\u2019s STOVL capabilities can\u2019t be matched by any other aircraft in production. But perhaps it\u2019s not so surprising to see JSF program critics and budget hawks in Washington eagerly circling the carrier variant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A debate over the future of US naval fighter jets has been on a slow burn for months, but it\u2019s starting to heat up. There are reports that Boeing is surreptitiously marketing the F\/A-18XT or …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":31271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[271,1693,270,289],"class_list":["post-31268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-f-35","tag-f-35c","tag-super-hornets","tag-us-navy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCould an Advanced Super Hornet outmanoeuvre the US Navy\u2019s JSFs? | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/advanced-super-hornet-outmanoeuvre-us-navys-jsfs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could an Advanced Super Hornet outmanoeuvre the US Navy\u2019s JSFs? | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A debate over the future of US naval fighter jets has been on a slow burn for months, but it\u2019s starting to heat up. 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