Super Hornet could compete
with Lockheed F-35
23 JANUARY, 2017 - SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM - BY: LEIGH
GIANGRECO
WASHINGTON DC
Boeing’s F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet could steal orders away from the Lockheed Martin F-35 if the Trump
Administration adjusts defence priorities, military acquisition analyst Andrew
Hunter told an audience 23 January at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies.
An
"advanced Super Hornet" still can’t compete with the stealthy F-35 in
airspace monitored by radar surveillance, but a semi-low-observable F/A-18E/F
with more carriage capacity could emerge as an attractive option against less
sophisticated threats, according to Hunter.
“But if your strategy requires
to operate continuously in denied access air environments, there is no such
thing as a comparable Super Hornet,” he adds. “It simply doesn’t exist.”
In 2015, US Gen Joseph Dunford,
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Russia the greatest
existential threat to the US followed by China, North Korea and Islamic State
terrorists. That order affects how the US Department of Defense approaches its
procurement priorities. When it comes to air, it means the Pentagon has set its
sights on buying high-end aircraft that can penetrate more sophisticated
Russian air defences in Crimea.
But there is some indication
from Trump’s previous statements and his proclivity for Russian president
Vladimir Putin that the old order could be flipped. US president Donald Trump’s
national security team could make terrorism their top concern and let the
Russian threat fall to the back burner, according to CSIS defence budget
analyst Todd Harrison.
“If that holds true then why do
you need as many of these stealthy aircraft?” Harrison says. “So it could
dramatically change what we’re buying.”
Last week, USAF chief Gen David
Goldfein expressed his support for Senate Armed Services Committee Chair
Senator John McCain’s proposal to add 300 low-cost fighters to the budget. That
move would make sense if the DOD pivots its focus toward fighting terrorist
groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, where light-attack aircraft such as the
Embraer Super Tucano already operate.
Trump’s proposal for a price
shoot-out on the F-35 programme between Boeing and Lockheed has some precedent.
Harrison noted the US Navy already pits the Super Hornet against the
carrier-based F-35C variant, with its numerous budget requests to increase the
number of F/A-18E/Fs while reducing orders for the F-35C.
The service requested 14 Super
Hornets in the most recent defence policy bill, which were turned down by
Congress. A recent white paper from McCain suggested continuing this trend,
pointing to the growing shortfall of Navy fighters and ongoing delays to the
F-35C programme. McCain proposed procuring 58 more Super Hornets and 16 EA-18G
Growlers over the next five years, but would continue F-35 procurement as
quickly as possible.
If Lockheed would feel
competition from any aircraft, it would be the Super Hornet, Harrison adds.
“I
think it’s easy to say Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about, the F-18
doesn’t have the same capabilities as F-35C,” Harrison says. “All of that’s
true, but I think he knew that he was picking at a scab.”
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