The Navy has plans to boost its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler capabilities in the coming years to match an evolving threat, but plane manufacturer Boeing is still pushing for conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system and a new engine that the company says would add even more range and warfighting capability.Given tight budgets and a long list of needs for the Navy, Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18G programs vice president Dan Gillian said the company has scaled down its F-18 add-on list since a 2013 proposal for an Advanced Super Hornet.“We’ve really matured our thinking on the Advanced Super Hornet and what the Advanced Super Hornet needs to be based on what the carrier air wing needs in the ‘20s and ‘30s – and that means a complementary way to F-35,” Gillian told reporters earlier this month.“So if we think about the next 25 years, you’re going to have Super Hornets and F-35s on the decks together; what are the right things for the Super Hornet to bring to the carrier air wing … to give the Navy that warfighting capability they need?”
