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Multi-year buys key to big Boeing Super Hornet win
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| 02 January 2003 |
By Michael J Gething, JDW Aviation Consultant, London
The US Navy (USN) has awarded Boeing Integrated Defense Systems the second multi-year procurement (MYP) contract for an additional 210 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, worth $8.6 billion.
The company has also received a $1 billion contract for the system design and development (SDD) phase of the EA-18G airborne electronic attack aircraft, dubbed the 'Growler'.
Under the terms of the MYP contract, the USN will buy 42 aircraft in each Fiscal Year (FY) from FY05-09. The agreement gives the USN the flexibility to increase the number of aircraft on order by as many as six units per year. Deliveries for platforms purchased through this second MYP will begin in FY07. The first MYP contract, ending in 2004, calls for up to 222 Super Hornets; Boeing has already produced 170 of these.
According to USN Capt 'BD' Gaddis, US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) F/A-18 programme manager, one of the F/A-18E/F programme's strengths is the stability of its procurement accounts. "Multi-year procurements have driven stability and increased cost efficiencies with the programme," he said.
"The US Navy realised around $750 million in cost savings from the first Super Hornet multi-year contract. In the second multi-year contract, we've realised just over $1 billion in savings. I would call that a pretty good return on investment."
Derived from the two-seat F/A-18F, the EA-18G will give the USN abundant operational flexibility. It can carry up to five AN/ALQ-99F jamming pods and will, typically, be armed with two AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) for self-defence and two AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) missiles for attack. By combining two proven systems, the F/A-18F and the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-218(V)2 receiver (which will replace the initial AN/ALQ-99F system integrated receiver), the USN expects to maximise the benefit of continuing investment.
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