St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 4, 2002

Super Hornet Gains A Stake In New Role

By Philip Dine, Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has taken a major step toward choosing Boeing's St. Louis-built Super Hornet as the new U.S. radar-jamming plane, a deal that could be worth $7 billion to $9 billion.

In a letter to Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., a top Navy official said senior Defense Department officials will start spending money geared toward making it possible for the Super Hornet, or F/A-18, to replace Northrop Grumman's aging EA-6B Prowler as the nation's primary electronic-warfare plane.

The Prowler's radar-jamming capabilities have led the way in neutralizing enemy air-defense systems in the early days of a battle, allowing U.S. fighters free use of the skies, essential in modern warfare. Under the plan, Boeing would modify 90 to 125 Super Hornets, adding jamming capabilities.

In the letter to Akin, Assistant Secretary of the Navy John J. Young Jr. said he had "successfully obtained Secretary (Pete) Aldridge's approval" to spend $5 million in EA-6B replacement funds on the Super Hornet. Young is the Navy's chief of research, development and acquisition.

Aldridge, undersecretary of defense, is in charge of acquisitions for the Pentagon. Akin and Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., this year added the $5 million to the defense budget for preliminary engineering to speed up replacement of the EA-6B.

"The bottom line," Akin said Tuesday, "is they're saying they're taking the $5 million and putting it into moving ahead with the F/A-18. This is really an important step in that process.

"We feel we're on the cusp of our major (military) project for the last two years coming to fruition here," said Akin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Ensign Dave Luckett, a Navy spokesman, said the decision allows the Navy to "go forward with pre-system development and demonstration activities on the F/A-18."

Paul Summers, who leads Boeing's electronic-attack program, said that while a final Pentagon decision on replacing the EA-6B won't come until next year: "This is a significant step forward for our plans. We're viewing it as such, and we're extremely pleased."