Australia To Receive 24 Super Hornets

Northrop Grumman Corporation recently started production of the fuselage section for the first F/A-18F Super Hornet for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Mechanics loaded the aircraft's first bulkhead components into place July 10 on Northrop Grumman's F/A-18 assembly line in El Segundo. The government of Australia is purchasing 24 F/A-18Fs from the United States in the first international procurement of the Super Hornet.

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is already in service with the US Navy as its combat-proven strike fighter.

As principal subcontractor to The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman is responsible for design and production of the F/A-18E/F's center/aft fuselage section and twin vertical tails, integration of all associated subsystems and after-delivery product support. (The "E" model has one cockpit seat; the "F" has two.) Northrop Grumman has delivered more than 1,800 of these fuselage "shipsets."

"This F/A-18 shipset will be built with the same high level of quality as every one we've produced since the program began more than 30 years ago," said George Vardoulakis, vice president of F/A-18 Programs for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "That's a commitment our employees are proud to make, day in and day out, to the men and women in combat who rely on this capable aircraft."

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com, www.airforce.gov.au/