F-18 Fuel Tank

F-18 Fuel Tank – In the meantime, it could be said that the effective striking range of US carrier strike groups (CSGs) has started to slowly diminish in several areas recently with anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) weapon systems advancements from near-peer threats

such as the Chinese DF-21 and DF-26 medium-range anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), which put CSGs at risk – albeit the CSGs are equipped with state-of-the-art Lockheed Martin Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis BMD) system that could be coupled with over-the-horizon (OTH) targeting provided by Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft which is well suited to detect and intercept such threats.

F-18 Fuel Tank

The installation of CFTs on the F/A-18E/Fs would mitigate the threat up to some point since the strike fighters would be able to expand their weapons deployment envelope by releasing their munitions further from the carrier where they were launched.

F/A-C/D Hornet

With this strategy, the Naval Air Station Oceana-based strike fighter squadron was able to save 1,000 gallons of fuel per sortie (Elward, 2012). This proves that the additional drop tanks carried on the strike fighter’s wings guzzle the aircraft’s gas due to the insurmountable drag they generate.

Presentation slide showing the evolution of US Navy Carrier Air Wings in 2030 – note the presence of both the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G in the air wing composition. The US Navy still desires to operate the Super Hornet family until the 2030s.

Courtesy of United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations. As the Super Hornet operates with the Navy, and therefore on aircraft carriers, it could be surmised that at least one of the problems is related to how the Super Hornet’s airframe and landing gear deals with the wear and tear caused by additional fuel high up on

the Super Hornet airframe. Since 1982, more than 1,458 F/A-18s have been procured for the USN and USMC and for the armed services in Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland, and Malaysia. VRML 3-D Model F-18 Hornets

F/A- Hornet

VRML by Soji Yamakawa F-18 Hornet Blue Angels VRML by Soji Yamakawa The latest version of the U.S. Navy’s venerable Super Hornet air superiority fighter might have a design flaw. The Navy is reportedly mulling over whether or not to install the Super Hornet’s conformal fuel tanks, which are supposed to breathe life into the Super Hornet platform by extending their range.

Aviation Week first reported on the Super Hornet’s potential upgrade issue earlier last week, problems that could hinder the most advanced Super Hornet yet—and not installing conformal fuel tanks, or CFTs, ​​onto the Super Hornets could seriously limit the Navy’s air capabilities.

Although 41% interdiction mission range increase may be the most notable F/A-18E/F improvement, the ability to recover aboard with optimal reserve fuel and a load of precision strike weapons, is of equal importance to the battle group commander.

The growth potential of the F/A-18E/F is more important to allow flexible employment strategies in future years. If an electronically scanned array antenna or another installation-sensitive sensor or weapon system becomes available, the F/A-18E/F has the space, power and cooling to accommodate it.

Although the more recent F/A-18C/D aircraft have incorporated a modicum of low observable technology, the F/A-18E/F was designed from the outset to optimize this and other survivability enhancements. The all-F/A-18C/D/E/F air wing brings an increase in capability to the carrier battle group while ensuring the potential to take advantage of technological advances for years to come.

In the case of the Block III Super Hornet, Boeing states that their CFTs offer 3,500 pounds of extra fuel and even reduce drag. In addition to large CFTs, ​​Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Block III upgrade offers a host of new capabilities, including large touchscreen displays, and a more robust airframe with long, 9,000 flight hour longevity.

Roll-out of the first Super Hornet occurred in September 1995, and it flew for the first time in November 1995, ahead of schedule and nearly 1,000 pounds under specified weight. In January 1997, the Super Hornet successfully conducted its initial sea trials on board the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74).

Carrier recovery payload is increased to 9,000 pounds, and its engine thrust from 36,000 pounds to 44,000 pounds utilizing two General Electric F414 turbo-fan engines. Although the more recent F/A-18C/D aircraft have incorporated a modicum of low

observable technology, the F/A-18E/F was designed from the outset to optimize this and other survivability enhancements. On July 13th, 2021, Rear Admiral Andrew Loiselle, director of the Air Warfare Division (OPNAV/N98) of the US Navy opted to reduce the size of F-35C squadrons from the standard configuration of fourteen airframes per squadron to just ten – and

also the number of fleet squadrons deployed into carrier air wings from the previously planned of two to only one. These measures are performed in order to, quite oddly, resolve the aforementioned issue of the lack of VLO fighters onboard US carrier strike groups.

If the plan genuinely comes into motion, it will present more emphasis on the need for CFTs to be installed on the Super Hornets to increase carrier strike groups’ effective combat range and capabilities while also complementing the groups’ lack of Batwings (F-35C’s nickname

). An F/A-18F Block II Lot 27 Super Hornet, BuNo 166634, MSN F127, MODEX AA101, assigned to VFA-11 Red Rippers catches an arresting wire with its tailhook aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in October 2005.

Photo courtesy of Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Christopher B. Long. The Rhino is equipped with Reduced Authority Thrust System (RATS) that will rapidly reduce the aircraft’s thrust upon successful arrest, reducing wear and tear on the arresting gear.

Operational sustainability and efficiency are some of the main design philosophies behind the Super Hornet. The Hornet has been battle tested and has proven itself to be exactly what its designers intended: a highly reliable and versatile strike fighter.

The F/A-18 played an important role in the 1986 strikes against Libya. Flying from USS CORAL SEA (CV 43), F/A-18s launched high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) against Libyan air defense radars and missile sites, effectively silencing them during the attacks on Benghazi facilities.

The F/A-18 has proven to be an ideal component of the carrier based tactical aviation equation over its 15 years of operational experience. The only F/A-18 characteristic found to be marginally adequate by battle group commanders, outside experts, and even the men who fly the Hornet, is its range when flown on certain strike mission profiles.

However, the inadequacy is managed well with organic and joint tanking assets. The original F/A-18A (single seat) and F/A-18B (dual seat) became operational in 1983 replacing Navy and Marine Corps F-4s and A-7s. It quickly became the battle group commander’s mainstay because of its capability, versatility and availability.

Reliability and ease of maintenance were emphasized in its design, and F/A-18s have consistently flown three times more hours without failure than other Navy tactical aircraft, while requiring half the maintenance time. Unfortunately, as long as Boeing and the Navy remain zip-lipped regarding those two issues, we can only guess what really caused them.

One that is quite possible is the blockage by the CFTs to certain doors or fuel and avionics compartment panels on the aircraft’s fuselage and LERX-es, giving rise to more arduous efforts in maintenance – although Boeing claimed that the CFT kits would be easy to be

retrofitted and also uninstalled at the field (Elward, 2012). Another possibility is that projected structural integrity issues plague the CFTs. These kind of structural issues are easier to form upon aircraft carrier operation cycles, where airframes are subjected to rough arrests during recovery that naval aviators often describe as “crashing instead of landing”, sudden acceleration when the airframes are launched from the carrier’s catapults, and

greater exposure to metal corrosion since they are operating out of saline waters. In 1987, the upgraded C/D model (with enhanced mission avionics) was introduced and upgraded with a night/adverse weather mission capability, On Board Oxygen Generating System, APG-73 Radar Upgrade,

enhanced performance F404-GE-402 engines, and upgraded mission computers. The implementation of Conformal Fuel Tanks onboard the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters is crucial to maintain US Navy carrier strike groups’ effective striking range, emphasized by the ever-presence of anti-access/area-denial weapon systems employed

by America’s near-peer threats. The Conformal Fuel Tanks could also increase a Rhino’s loiter time quite significantly, which can be utilized for numerous tactical situations – mainly prevalent in close-air-support scenarios. Increased fuel efficiency with Conformal Fuel Tanks installed and by means of removing wing-mounted drop tanks to reduce drag would also reduce the fuel-related operational cost of the venerable strike fighter.

It would be a shame if these advancements that would increase the potential of both the Super Hornet and American carrier strike groups are getting their sundown even before entering the fleet. Interdiction with four 1,000 lb bombs, two Sidewinders,

and two 1,818 liters (480 U.S. gallons: 400 Imp gallon) external tanks, navigation FLIR and targeting FLIR: Forward Looking Infra-Red hi-lo-lo-hi Thanks to their contoured shape, CFTs can sometimes offer airframes a reduced radar cross section and/or superior flight characteristics under certain circumstances in addition to the additional range extra fuel provides.

Super Hornets (and other airplanes) can be alternatively outfitted with underwing drop tanks, essentially fuel pods that extend range and can be jettisoned when empty, although drop tanks generally cause more parasitic drag than CFTs, ​​and have considerably lower maximum fuel capacity.

Following a successful run of more than 400 A and B models, the US Navy began taking fleet deliveries of improved F/A-18C (single seat) and F/A-18D (dual seat) models in September 1987. These Hornets carry the

Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and the infrared imaging Maverick air-to-ground missile. Two years later, the C/D models came with improved night attack capabilities. The new components included a navigation forward looking infrared (NAVFLIR) pod, a raster head-up display, night vision goggles, special cockpit lighting compatible with the night vision devices, a digital color moving map and an independent multipurpose color display.

The Super Hornet’s CFTs may have also been maintenance-heavy. It could be that the CFTs would need to be removed in order to access parts of the Super Hornet during maintenance and servicing. If so, the extra time and logistics may outweigh the additional range the CFTs provide.

Currently, Kuwait and Australia operate the Super Hornet, along with the United States, and Boeing would no doubt like to market their advanced Block III Super Hornet further abroad. But, with potential issues to the platform’s CFTs, ​​foreign sales might take a hit.

F/A-18Cs have synthetic aperture ground mapping radar with a doppler beam sharpening mode to generate ground maps. This ground mapping capability that permits crews to locate and attack targets in adverse weather and poor visibility or to precisely update the aircraft’s location relative to targets during the approach, a capability that improves bombing accuracy.

New production F/A-18Cs received the APG-73 radar upgrade radars starting in 1994, providing more precise and clear radar displays. The F/A-18 has a digital control-by-wire flight control system which provides excellent handling qualities, and allows pilots to learn to fly the airplane with relative ease.

At the same time, this system provides exceptional maneuverability and allows the pilot to concentrate on operating the weapons system. A solid thrust-to-weight ratio and superior turn characteristics combined with energy sustainability, enable the F/A-18 to hold its own against any adversary.

The power to maintain evasive action is what many pilots consider the Hornet’s finest trait. In addition, the F/A-18 was also the Navy’s first tactical jet aircraft to incorporate a digital, MUX bus architecture for the entire system’s avionics suite.

The benefit of this design feature is that the F/A-18 has been relatively easy to upgrade on a regular, affordable basis. On the first day of Operation Desert Storm, two F/A-18s, each carrying four 2,000 lb.

bombs, shot down two Iraqi MiGs and then proceeded to deliver their bombs on target. Throughout the Gulf War, squadrons of U.S. Navy, Marine and Canadian F/A-18s operated around the clock, setting records daily in reliability, survivability and ton-miles of ordnance delivered.

F/A-18F Block III Super Hornets and an E38M, a fictional AEW aircraft based on the Boeing 737-MAX8 commercial transport, hugging the terrain above the Bromo Mountains, East Java. Render courtesy of mine – original F/A-18F mesh by Swift Shadowfire, original 737-MAX8 mesh by NajmiCreative.

CFTs are essentially large additional fuel tanks that can be attached to airframes in various locations, although they’re typically attached to the airframe’s back, forming a kind of shoulder on either side of the fuselage, or along wing roots, the area where wings attach

to the airframe. The Super Hornet can carry approximately 17,750 pounds (8,032 kg) of external load on eleven stations. It has an all-weather air-to-air radar and a control system for accurate delivery of conventional or guided weapons.

There are two wing tip stations, four inboard wing stations for fuel tanks or air-to-ground weapons, two nacelle fuselage stations for Sparrows or sensor pods, and one centerline station for fuel or air-to-ground weapons. An internal 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon is mounted in the nose.

CFD mesh of an F/A-18A at high angles-of-attack, note the air vortices (white spirals) generated by the LERX-es that produce quite a significant amount of lift at the expense of induced drag, commonly used during low

-speed recovery approaches on aircraft carriers and during instantaneous maneuvers in ACM. Also, notice the low-pressure zones where lift is generated on the LERX-es (blue) visible in the pressure coefficient gradient. Courtesy of aerospaceweb.org.

f 16 external fuel tanks, 1967 f100 gas tank, f 16 conformal fuel tanks, f18 external fuel tank, 1966 f100 gas tank relocation, f18 range in miles, fa18, f18 conformal fuel tank