Super Hornet gains combat experience: performance in Iraq is praised, yet purchases of new aircraft are being cut back.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold

Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed in the Persian Gulf, swooped into southern Iraq and dropped 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions on hostile surface-to-air missile systems and a command-and-control facility.

The mission--which occurred shortly before the opening of the war--was the first-ever combat experience for the Super Hornet. Officials wouldn't describe the action in detail, but they said they were pleased by the performance of the aircraft, which is considered the centerpiece of the Navy's effort to rebuild its tactical aviation program.

"I can tell you, with a clear conscience, that the Super Hornet is doing incredibly well in Iraq," said Capt. Jeffrey A. Wieringa, the aircraft's program manager at the Naval Air Systems Command, which is based at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. It is dropping precision-guided ordnance on Baghdad and other targets, escorting other aircraft on combat missions, providing close air support for ground troops and acting as a tanker to refuel other aircraft.

The Super Hornet--built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, in St. Louis--is the successor to the two decade-old Hornet. The Hornet is a twin-engine aircraft that comes in single and two-seat versions, Wieringa told National Defense.

Able to operate from carriers and land bases, the Hornet is the first tactical aircraft designed from inception to take on both fighter and attack missions, the experienced test pilot explained. The Hornet can conduct both air-to-air and air-to- ground missions.

The original F/A-18A, with a single seat, and the F/A-18B, with two, became operational in 1983, replacing Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom II and A-7 Corsair II aircraft, Wieringa said. The F/A-18A/B was the Navy's first digital aircraft, he said. In 1987, the F/A-18C/D began replacing the A-6 Intruder. Then, in 1999, the latest in the series-the single-seated F/A-18E and the double-seated F model Super Hornet-entered operational service. It is taking the place of the F-14 Tomcat.

Older F/A-18s also are flying in Iraq. In fact, an F/A-18C was shot down in southern Iraq. Officials were investigating whether it was brought down by Iraqis or in a "friendly fire" incident by a U.S. Patriot missile.

The Super Hornet has significantly more capability than earlier models, Wieringa said. "It has more range, more payload and more survivability," he said.

For one thing, the Super Hornet has a total of ii weapons stations--two more than previous versions--he pointed out. The aircraft can carry a full complement of "smart" weapons, including the JDAM and the joint standoff weapon.

Serving as a tanker, it can carry up to 14,000 pounds of jet fuel in up to five 480gallon external tanks under its wings to refuel other aircraft...