Mon, Jan 10, 2011
RAAF Achieves Initial Operating Capability With Its First
F/A-18 Squadron
Four new F/A-18F Super Hornets were delivered to Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley in December, expanding
the RAAF's fleet of the advanced multirole fighters to 15. The
delivery enabled the RAAF's achievement of Initial Operating
Capability (IOC) with its first Super Hornet squadron, the
Amberley-based No. 1.
File Photo
The December arrival was the third Super Hornet delivery to the
base during 2010. Three aircraft in the latest delivery were
prewired for potential conversion to electronic attack capability
during production at Boeing facilities in St. Louis; the remaining
nine aircraft in the contract will be prewired in the same way
before delivery to the RAAF's No. 6 Squadron.
File Photo
"The Boeing Super Hornet team has surpassed expectations by
delivering 15 aircraft to the RAAF in 2010 instead of the 12
originally scheduled," said Carolyn Nichols, Australian Super
Hornet program manager for Boeing. "Additionally, each aircraft has
been delivered within budget. We are fully committed to ensuring
the same delivery success and budget excellence throughout 2011. We
congratulate the men and women of the RAAF on the outstanding
achievement of reaching No. 1 Squadron's Super Hornet IOC ahead of
schedule."
The Australian government announced in March 2007 that it would
acquire 24 of the advanced Block II versions of the Super Hornet,
all of which are equipped with the Raytheon-built APG-79 Active
Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
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