Five of Boeing’s Super Hornets reached the Royal Australian Air Force recently. The remaining 19 of the 25 ordered by the air force in 2007 will reach by 2011.

Five of the 19 F/A-18F Super Hornets ordered by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from Boeing, arrived at the air force base in Amberley, Queensland. Australia is the first international customer for the Super Hornet.

Australia had placed an order for 24 Super Hornets in March 2007. While five of them were delivered on March 26, 2010, the remaining 19 aircraft, each equipped with the Raytheon-built APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, will arrive in Australia throughout 2010 and 2011.

The Super Hornets left the US Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, on March 18 and reached Amberley on March 26 after scheduled halts in Hawaii, Pago and New Zealand.

At a ceremony organised at the air force base, the Australian Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, welcomed the RAAF Super Hornets to Australia. Speaking during the event, Dennis Muilenburg, President and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space & Security said, “We at Boeing are honoured to provide the next generation in air combat capability to the Royal Australian Air Force. We are proud to deliver it on time and on budget,” said Muilenburg. “The arrival of the Super Hornets marks a new chapter in the partnership between Boeing and Australia that has endured for more than 80 years. The exceptional collaboration and teamwork between Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation, the Royal Australian Air Force, the US Navy and the Hornet Industry Team was the foundation that ensured that these new Super Hornets are now ready to begin their RAAF service,” he added.

Australian Defence Secretary Ian Watt, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin, Chief of Air Force and US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Skinner were among the other officials present.

“The on-schedule arrival of the new Australian Super Hornets marks the beginning of a new generation of air power for the RAAF,” said Group Captain Steven Roberton, Officer Commanding the Super Hornet Wing. “The multirole Super Hornet is an advanced, networked weapons system that provides a major leap in capability for the RAAF.