Article Posted on : - May 10, 2011

F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. Photo: Boeing.

ST. LOUIS (BNS): The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has taken the delivery of six F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircrew and maintenance trainers from Boeing, at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland.

"These are the first Super Hornet training devices for a Foreign Military Sale customer and are part of the acquisition and establishment of 24 Australian F/A-18F Block II aircraft, initial spares, support equipment, trainers and training," Mark McGraw, Training Systems & Services vice president for Boeing, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

The training suite includes two Tactical Operation Flight Trainers (TOFT) and two Low Cost Trainers (LCT) for aircrew, as well as two Integrated Visual Environment Maintenance Trainers (IVEMT) for maintainers.

Each TOFT is built on Boeing's and L-3 Link's proven F/A-18 simulator common hardware and software baseline, and is integrated with L-3 Link's 360-degree SimuSphere visual display, SimuView image generator, and Boeing Training Systems & Services' mission computer emulation; simulated radar, electronic countermeasures, and Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System; and high-fidelity crew station controls. This provides both pilots and weapons sensor officers with a completely immersive training environment and a full spectrum of advanced tactical training.

The Boeing-built LCT runs a mission computer emulation and provides pilot and air combat officer training for navigation, weapons, radar, and electronic countermeasures. The LCT can be reconfigured to accommodate a number of aircrew training combinations with minimal facility requirements.

“The IVEMT is a new development and the first fully integrated Super Hornet maintenance device,” Boeing Training Systems & Services vice president, Mark McGraw added.

The IVEMT's features include an interactive 3-D model environment, test/support equipment and realistic aircraft responses. Students can perform more than 500 routine troubleshooting procedures using the device.

Boeing is on schedule to complete delivery of the RAAF Super Hornets by the end of this year.