The Navy this week awarded Boeing [BA] a $1.9 billion contract for a combined number of 44 F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft.
The contract for 11 Super Hornets and 33 Growlers announced late Monday includes 12 Growlers for the Australian government at a cost of $533.4 million under the foreign military sales program. The remaining amount is for the Navy Super Hornets and Growlers.
While the Super Hornets and Growlers perform different missions, they share an airframe and are produced at a Boeing facility in St. Louis.
The contract was awarded based on fiscal 2013 and 2014 funding and is the last currently planned for both aircraft. The Navy did not formally request more in its 2015 spending proposal, although it did submit 22 Growlers on an unfunded priority wish list requested by Congress.
The Growlers are viewed as playing a key role in airborne electronic warfare and the Navy has said that its planned 212 aircraft will be just enough to meet the minimum requirement for the mission across the Pentagon. The Navy and the Marine Corps are the only two services that provide the mission.
The House Appropriations Committee has signed off on the Navy buying 12 more radar-jamming Growlers in fiscal 2015. The Senate panel has yet to outline its plans.
Boeing is faced with the prospect of closing the production line for the aircraft in 2016 without any additional orders. If it gets 12 more, company officials say they’ll be able to stave off shutting the line down into at least 2017.