System Upgrades For 2,000 F/A-18s

[rock45]

System Upgrades For 2,000 F/A-18s

By Lee Ann Tegtmeier and Michael Bruno

Boeing will upgrade the mission systems in 2,000 F/A-18s operated by eight countries through a $905.3 million system configuration set contract awarded by the U.S. Navy.F/A-18 A/B, C/D, E/F and EA-18G aircraft from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland and Malaysia will receive the enhancements scheduled to be finished in December 2013.
The upgrades are part of an effort to keep the fighters "in front of developing threats over the next three decades," said Boeing spokesman Philip Carder.
This is a big win for Boeing, which has been on a campaign to pitch the F/A-18 as a gap-filler or even alternative fighter to U.S. and allied air forces while they await the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and European contenders like the Saab Gripen Next Generation. Customers from the Royal Australian Air Force to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have wrestled with how to fill so-called fighter gaps expected in coming years.
Boeing will upgrade the mission systems with software and hardware, including distributed targeting processors and active electronically scanned array radar improvements, and ensure the enhancements integrate, according to Carder.
It will complete 95% of the upgrades at its St. Louis, Mo., facility and the rest will be done at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., the latter of which is responsible for the contracting activity.
Contract funds for this big project will not expire at the end of the fiscal year.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy


Link
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gene...ml&headline=System Upgrades For 2,000 F/A-18s

 

[factanonverba]

Canadian Air Forces have completed the upgrade in PHASE 1 since 2006 and PHASE will be completed in 2009. It's a good idea and cheaper than buying a new fleet when you can upgraded your fleet for 20 million each aircraft.

Future Plans


In 2001, the Canadian Air Force launched an eight-year, two-phase initiative called the Incremental Modernization Project (IMP). By the end of this project, a total of 80 CF-18 Hornets—62 single-seat and 18 dual-seat—will have received significant upgrades to their radio, avionics and weapons systems, as well as to the structural integrity of their fuselage, wings and tail sections.
The modernization program will ensure that Canada has a state-of-the-art CF-18 fighter force that remains effective and operationally viable until at least 2017.
Phase I of the IMP (2002–2006) involved procuring and installing:

• a new on-board radar system
• “Have Quick” jam-resistant radios that are compatible with technology used by NATO-ally air forces
• a combined interrogator/transponder unit to ensure that CF-18s are recognized as “friendlies” when spotted on allied radar scopes during combat operations
• a stores management system for weapon-system and associated-equipment control
• new mission-designation computers
• embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) capability

The first completed “Phase I” CF-18 was delivered back to Air Command in May 2003.
Within the same timeframe but separate from the IMP, the following new components were also installed in the aircrafts:

• a new infrared sensor
• a multipurpose instrument-panel display group
• a night vision imaging system
• advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons
• a landing-gear “get well” program to reduce corrosion and improve gear retraction
• an Advanced Distributed Combat Training System

Phase II of the IMP (2006–2009) involves installing:

• a data-link system for information-exchange connectivity with similar systems on other surveillance and air-combat platforms
• a helmet-mounted display
• a crash-survivable flight recorder
• an upgraded electronic warfare (EW) suite to enhance survivability against future surface-to-air threats

Several projects outside the scope of the IMP are also planned to upgrade the CF-18s. They include:

• a fuselage Centre Barrel Replacement Project (for 40 of the upgraded aircraft)
• an Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation System
• an Integrated Electronic Warfare Support Station
• an Electronic Warfare Test Equipment Project

Total costs for the IMP and the additional Hornet fleet enhancements are not yet confirmed, but are estimated at about $2.6 billion (CAD).