Aircraft · Air
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
Carrier-based multirole fighter family with single-seat E and two-seat F variants.
by Boeing
- Milestones0
- Operators—
- Components—
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Sandra A. Pimentel via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Navy) · Resized and reencoded as WebP with metadata removed; no additional crop.
Timeline
No milestones recorded for F/A-18E/F Super Hornet yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.
Cost to the Government
Aircraft · Boeing
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
Carrier-based strike fighter with separate E and F flight-hour rates and later Block III production and upgrade work.
Published unit cost
$67.4M
FY2021 fact sheet · FY2021 USD
Source scope excludes a current foreign support package.
NAVAIR ↗Program quantity
Not verified
A comparable total acquisition quantity has not been verified.
R&D program total
Not verified
A separately identified lifetime development total has not been verified. This is not a zero-cost estimate.
Block III and existing aircraft
New Block III production and upgrades to already-owned aircraft represent different procurement scopes. The published FY2021 unit reference is not a cost estimate for every later configuration.
Operations & sustainment
Annual O&S / aircraft
$6.41M / yr
FY2018 · Constant FY2018 USD
Historical average for the source study population; not a marginal mission cost.
GAO ↗F/A-18E Reimbursement / flight hour
$22,407 / hr
FY2026 · Nominal USD; Other DoD Component
Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership.
DoD Comptroller ↗F/A-18F Reimbursement / flight hour
$24,603 / hr
FY2026 · Nominal USD; Other DoD Component
Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership.
DoD Comptroller ↗Cost over time · 3 observations
Each row retains its original scope and dollar basis. Changing quantities, service life and inflation can change the estimate without changing the price of building one unit.
| Observation | Measure | Amount | Dollar basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | Annual O&S / aircraft Historical average for the source study population; not a marginal mission cost. | $5.58M / yr | Constant FY2018 USD | GAO ↗ |
| FY2018 | Annual O&S / aircraft Historical average for the source study population; not a marginal mission cost. | $6.41M / yr | Constant FY2018 USD | GAO ↗ |
| FY2021 fact sheet | Published unit cost Source scope excludes a current foreign support package. | $67.4M | FY2021 USD | NAVAIR ↗ |
Contracts & purchasing · 1 records
Award values, ceilings and purchase agreements have different meanings. These records are not added together as total spending.
2024-03-19 · Block III production and technical data
U.S. Navy → Boeing
$1.3B · 17 units in scope
Award includes a technical-data package as well as aircraft. Do not divide the award to infer a bare-aircraft price.
NAVAIR ↗
Connected missiles & systems
Weapon integration
GBU-53/B StormBreaker (SDB II) →Air Force and Navy aircraft integration have distinct funding and fielding scopes.
U.S. Air Force ↗RTX / Raytheon ↗
International buyers
No international purchase documented in this review.
Coverage & open research
- Figures retain the date and scope of the original source. A historical count, cumulative delivery or procurement plan is not today’s mission-capable inventory.
- A separately identified lifetime development total has not been verified. This is not a zero-cost estimate.
Unit costs and contract unit prices for this system, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.