Australian air force to make 12 new Super Hornets electronic warfare capable

Twelve of 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets on order for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will be rewired to provide them advanced electronic warfare capability. The Australian government has announced that the aircraft would be modified at a cost of $35 million as they move down the Boeing production line in the United States.

The announcement was made by defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who said this would be a far cheaper option than seeking to modify aircraft once they are inducted for service.

The modifications will provide the RAAF with F/A-18F Super Hornets that would be capable of being upgraded to full EA-18G Growler configuration, at par with the Growlers now entering service with the US Navy.

"If finally pursued, the relatively small investment will significantly enhance the Super Hornets capability, by giving electronic attack capacity and therefore the ability to nullify the systems of opposing aircraft," Fitzgibbon said.

"It will also provide the Super Hornets with counter-terrorism capability through the ability to shut down the ground-based communications and bomb triggering devices of terrorists."

Once modified, the RAAF aircraft could be upgraded to full Growler capability through acquisition of electronic warfare pods. This, of course, is a separate issue altogether for it is yet to be resolved whether the US would agree to sell Australia some of its most advanced electronic equipment.

Australian defence ministry sources expressed quiet optimism that the fact that the US had agreed to the installation of the additional wiring left them confident that electronic equipment would be supplied.

These electronic systems, Fitzgibbon said, would cost an additional $300 million. A decision by the government on such an acquisition would likely be made in March or April.

The acquisition would provide Australia with an extremely advanced airborne electronic attack capability that would far outstrip similar capabilities of any regional power.

The previous government launched plans to replace the RAAF's ageing F-111 bombers by 2010. Though its older fleet of F/A-18s would be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 JSF from 2015, the previous government ordered 24 new F/A-18s as a stop gap arrangement to cover the gap in capabilities.

The first Australian Super Hornets will be delivered next year.  

EA-18G Growler
The Boeing Growler is similar to the conventional Super Hornet with a key difference - it has no gun and that space is taken by dedicated electronic attack components.  In the case of the RAAF the gun will remain till such time a decision is taken to replace with the electronic pods.

The Boeing EA-18G Growler is a carrier-based electronic warfare version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. Slated for US Navy fleet deployment in 2009, the EA-18G will replace the EA-6B Prowler.

In 2008 the Australian Government requested export approval from the US government to purchase up to six EA-18Gs, which would be part of the order for 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets. It has now been announced that 12 of the 24 Super Hornets on order would be wired on the production line for future fit-out as EA-18Gs.

The flight performance of the Growler is similar to that of the F/A-18 but its electronic capability allows it to perform escort jamming as well as the traditional standoff jamming mission.

The Growler has more than 90 per cent in common with the standard Super Hornet, sharing airframe, AESA radar and weapon systems such as the AN/AYK-22 Stores Management System.

Most of the dedicated airborne electronic attack equipment is mounted in the space that used to house the internal 20 mm cannon and on the wingtips. Nine weapons stations remain free to provide for additional weapons or jamming pods.

The added electronics include AN/ALQ-218 wideband receivers on the wingtips, and ALQ-99 high and low-band tactical jamming pods. The ALQ-218 combined with the ALQ-99 form a full spectrum electronic warfare suite that is able to provide detection and jamming against all known surface-to-air threats.

The EA-18G will also use the INCANS Interference Cancellation system that will allow voice communication while jamming enemy communications, a capability not available on the EA-6B.

In addition to the radar warning and jamming equipment the Growler possesses a communications receiver and jamming system that will provide suppression and electronic attack against airborne communication threats.