Boeing Offers Additional F/A-18 Sale to U.S. Navy

DefenseNews.com
April 16, 2007

Boeing Offers Additional F/A-18 Sale to U.S. Navy

By JOHN T. BENNETT

Boeing is floating a proposal to sell the U.S. Navy more F/A-18E/F
Super Hornets, just in case Lockheed Martin¹s F-35 Lightning II
suffers further production delays, according to company officials.

The Chicago-based aviation and defense giant "would love to do another
multiyear contract" that would give the sea service "about 100 more
jets than the current planned buy," said Bob Gower, Boeing¹s vice
president for F/A-18 programs.
The Navy's existing deal with Boeing runs through 2009 and covers 42
Super Hornets annually.

The Navy is slated to buy its final 21 E/Fs in 2012, bringing the
total purchased to 108 between 2008 and 2013, according to service
budget documents that accompanied the 2008 spending plan sent to
Congress in February.

Recent moves by Navy officials have shed doubt on the service's
commitment to the international, tri-service JSF effort.
One industry official with ties to naval leaders said senior sea
service officials disagree about how they should shape the Navy's
tactical air fleet. The service has said it likely will face an
"inventory shortfall" of nearly 230 planes over the next 15 years.

"The Department of the Navy is already trying to figure out how to buy
fewer aircraft and save money to plow into shipbuilding" accounts, one
congressional aide said.

The current fly-away cost of an F/A-18E/F ‹ the production price tag,
not including development ‹ is $53.8 million. Gower said the company
might be able to get that under $50 million if the Navy ordered 42
more jets annually over four years.
Boeing¹s Gower said three main things were leading to an aircraft
shortage:

The F-35 carrier version¹s often-slipped in-service date, which is now
set for 2015.

Production slips mean the Navy will buy fewer JSFs.

Unanswered questions about the remaining lifespan of -A, -B, -C and -D
model Hornets, and how many newer Super Hornets might replace them.

Though it remains unclear how Congress will react to the idea of
buying more Super Hornets for the Navy, defense authorizers last year
suggested service officials give it some thought.

"The committee recommends that the Navy consider buying additional F/
A-18E/Fs to mitigate the known shortfall, while allowing the Navy to
transition to the JSF as soon as feasible," House and Senate conferees
wrote in the report that accompanied the 2007 National Defense
Authorization Act.

"The committee is concerned that the Navy will confront a sizeable gap
in aircraft inventory as older F/A-18A-D Hornets retire before the
aircraft carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is available.

"The magnitude of the problem, and the procurement cost to avoid a
shortfall in the carrier air wing force structure, is entirely
dependent on when the Navy determines that its F/A-18A/Cs are at the
end of their service life," states the conference report.

A Navy tactical-aircraft study due in coming months will help shape
plans. Several analysts said that if the study predicts another F-35
delay, the Navy could be left with few options but to buy more Super
Hornets.

While the Super Hornets lack many of the F-35's futuristic systems,
Gower noted the F/A-18E/Fs have received the new Active Electronically
Scanned Array radar and other upgrades. Combined with the EA-18G
Growler electronic
warfare aircraft, F/A-18s will be able to "take on the threats
expected through 2020 and beyond," Gower said.

Buying additional Super Hornets also would allow the Pentagon to avoid
‹ for a few years, at least ‹ having only one U.S. fighter
manufacturer. Lockheed Martin is producing the Pentagon's two next-
generation combat jets, the F-22A Raptor and the JSF.

"We are headed for a fighter monopoly," said Loren Thompson of the
Lexington Institute. DoD officials might warm to the idea of buying
more F/A-18s so that Boeing is "still in the game" for at least a few
more years, he added.

Boeing officials have been quick to downplay any talk of a pending
Super Hornet-JSF fight, even when asked about the company's plan to
jockey for funding with the high-profile F-35 program. Gower stressed,
"this is not the F-18 vs. the F-35; this is about the F-18 vs. the
threat."

Foreign Super Hornet sales also might push off the coming monopoly.
Boeing is seeking pieces of upcoming fighter purchases in India,
Japan, Switzerland and Malaysia.

JSF partner Australia recently sent ripples across the defense
community when it announced plans to purchase Super Hornets as a hedge
against F-35 delays.