Hornets’ sting

By Michael Brooke
Volume 48, No. 8, May 18, 2006

Venomous: Two 77SQN Hornets are the first to undergo the HUG 2.2 modifications, significantly enhancing the jets’ capability.

Photo by LAC David Gibbs

THE handover of the first two F/A-18’s to undergo Hornet Upgrade (HUG) 2.2 modifications at Williamtown provides the Air Force with an important roadmap for retiring the F-111s and transitioning to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd said the roadmap for Australia maintaining regional air superiority begins with the successful upgrade of the Air Force’s F/A-18s under Project Air 5376.

CAF said the handover of the first two F/A-18s with the 2.2 modifications on May 23 marked a “great day for the Air Force, the industry coalition conducting the upgrade and the people of Australia who deserve the best national defence that money can buy.”

“The handover is vitally important for the Air Force and national defence because retiring the F-111s and transitioning to a next generation Joint Strike Fighter on schedule hinges on getting the Hornet upgrade right,” he said.

AIRMSHL Shepherd said the Hornet upgrade is crucial to maintaining a capability edge in the key area of Air Combat through to the expected planned withdrawal date of the F/A-18 fleet between 2015 and 2018.

He said the total cost of the HUG program is around $2.5 billion, with HUG phase 2.2 costing approximately $600 million.

He said two Hornets from 77SQN are the first to undergo the HUG 2.2 modifications, with work on the Air Force’s 55 F/A-18As and 16 F/A-18Bs to be completed in early 2008.

“The HUG 2.2 modifications, in concert with other phases of HUG, will give the Air Force Hornet a decisive advantage in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and Within Visual Range (WVR) air combat, increased survivability, and Coalition interoperability,” he said.

The Phase 2.2 of Project Air 5376 significantly enhances the capability and ‘sting’ of the Hornet in the form of:

• MIDS LINK-16 datalink,
• Colour Display suite and digital moving map (MDGU),
• ALE-47 countermeasures system (CMDS),
• Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), and
• Joint Mission Planning System.

CAF said the Hornet pilots will have unprecedented situational awareness of the battle space through the MIDS LINK-16 datalink and advanced colour cockpit displays, while the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System provides a ‘HUD on the head capability’.

“Previously the pilot would have used the HUD (Head-up Display) to designate visually-acquired targets for attack, but the JHMCS combines a magnetic head tracker with a display projected onto the pilot’s visor, giving a targeting device that can be used to aim sensors and weapons wherever the pilot is looking.”

With JHMCS the pilot can aim the radar, air-to-air missiles, infra-red sensors and air-to ground weapons by observing the target through the helmet’s visor and pressing a switch on the flight controls.

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