First F/A-18F Super Hornet for Royal Australian Air Force in production
Northrop Grumman Corporation has begun production of the fuselage section for the first F/A-18F Super Hornet for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Mechanics loaded the aircraft’s first bulkhead components into place July 10 on Northrop Grumman’s state-of-the-art F/A-18 assembly line in El Segundo. The government of Australia is purchasing 24 F/A-18Fs from the United States in the first international procurement of the Super Hornet. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is already in service with the U.S. Navy as its combat-proven strike fighter.
As principal subcontractor to The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman is responsible for design and production of the F/A-18E/F’s center/aft fuselage section and twin vertical tails, integration of all associated subsystems and after-delivery product support. (The “E” model has one cockpit seat; the “F” has two.) Northrop Grumman has delivered more than 1,800 of these fuselage “shipsets.”
Northrop Grumman’s first RAAF shipset will be delivered in April 2009 for final assembly at Boeing’s facility in St. Louis, Mo. Australia was one of the original international users of the F/A-18A/B, the first version of the Hornet. Northrop Grumman also has produced structural assemblies for the RAAF’s earlier Hornets as part of a capability upgrade program.
The F/A-18E/F entered service with the Navy in 1999, and more than 360 have been delivered, all on time or ahead of their delivery schedule. With built-in versatility, the aircraft features a suite of integrated and networked systems that provide enhanced interoperability and total force support for the combatant commander and troops on the ground.
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