Boeing says it will complete delivery of the first of 24 F/A-18Fs to the RAAF later this month, three months ahead of schedule.

First RAAF Super Hornet flight

28 July 2009

The first of the 24 F/A-18Fs being built by Boeing for the RAAF took off on its initial flight from Lambert International Airport in St Louis on 20 July.

Boeing unveiled the aircraft on 8 July at the company's Integrated Defense Systems facility in St. Louis to a small crowd of Australian journalists.

Boeing says it will complete delivery of the first of 24 F/A-18Fs to the RAAF later in July, three months ahead of schedule.

The remaining 23 Super Hornets, each equipped with the Raytheon-built APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, will be delivered to the RAAF throughout 2010 and 2011.