Contact: Patricia Frost McDonnell Douglas (314) 234-6996

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

97-12

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 18, 1997 -- The U.S. Navy's newest tactical fighter -- the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet -- today earned its sea legs by landing aboard and then taking off from the deck of the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis.

Lt. Frank Morley piloted the two-seat Super Hornet.

"What a ride!" Morley said. "The Super Hornet handled great just as it has throughout flight test. It's a super performer with outstanding capability."

"This is a great day for naval aviation and the nation," said Capt. Joe Dyer, F/A-18E/F program manager for the U.S. Navy. "It's tremendously exciting to see this program continue to achieve such unprecedented success. The Super Hornet is proving it will deliver the capability needed for carrier operations well into the next century."

During the next two weeks, the Super Hornet will conduct a series of test flights from the Stennis to test its ability to operate from the deck of a carrier. With one year of a three-year flight test program complete, development of the Super Hornet has been on schedule and within budget since development began in June 1992.

Production of the first Super Hornets for fleet operations begins later this year at prime contractor McDonnell Douglas. The U.S. Navy plans to buy 1,000 F/A-18E/Fs through 2015.

Jerry Daniels, McDonnell Douglas vice president and general manager for the Hornet program, credits the success of the development program to the cooperation among the members of the Super Hornet integrated test team.

"Teamwork and respect among the members of the U.S. Navy and the contractor team have been the hallmark of the Super Hornet program since the start," said Daniels.

The multimission Super Hornet is 25 percent larger than its predecessor, the F/A-18C/D, and can fly further and carry more weapons to and from the carrier. The Hornet is the safest, most reliable and most easy-to-maintain fighter in U.S. naval aviation history.

To date, the E/F flight test program has logged more than 586 flight hours at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., where the flight test program is ongoing.

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