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The U.S. Navy’s published unit-cost figure for an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is $67.4 million in fiscal year 2021 dollars. That is a dated official figure—not a verified price Boeing would charge today to build one aircraft. A later Navy contract awarded $1.3 billion for 17 new jets plus a technical data package, so its total cannot be divided by 17 to get a clean aircraft-only price.
What does an F-18 Super Hornet cost?
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) lists the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet’s unit cost as $67.4 million (FY21). The figure is in fiscal-year 2021 dollars. NAVAIR does not identify it as a current quote or explicitly label it a flyaway cost, so it should be treated as the Navy’s published unit-cost figure rather than the exact amount Boeing would charge today to build a jet. NAVAIR’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet overview identifies the contractor as Boeing and describes the aircraft as a multirole fighter and attack aircraft.
Why isn’t the later $1.3 billion award a per-jet price?
On March 19, 2024, NAVAIR announced a $1.3 billion contract for 17 new Super Hornets and a technical data package. The announcement did not separate the aircraft hardware price from the value of the data package. Dividing the total by 17 would therefore turn a bundled contract award into a misleading supposed aircraft-only cost.
The data package was not incidental: Rear Adm. John Lemmon, the program executive officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs, said it was “a crucial part of this negotiation” and necessary for naval aviation’s operational readiness and post-production sustainment. NAVAIR’s March 19, 2024 announcement reported the contract scope and rationale.
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What the published figures cover
“Cost to build” can refer to different things. A unit-cost figure, a contract award, the cost of a whole acquisition program and the lifetime cost of operating an aircraft are not interchangeable. Contracts can include items beyond airframes; in the 2024 award, the stated scope explicitly included technical data. The available figures do not establish a comparable current aircraft-only price for a particular Super Hornet configuration.
| Figure | What it represents | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| $67.4 million (FY21) | NAVAIR’s published F/A-18E/F unit-cost figure, in fiscal-year 2021 dollars. | A current Boeing quote or an explicitly identified flyaway cost. |
| $1.3 billion for 17 aircraft plus a technical data package | A bundled contract award announced by NAVAIR in March 2024. | A standalone price per aircraft; the announcement does not itemize an aircraft-only amount. |
| Approximately $4 billion for 78 aircraft | A historical Navy multiyear procurement contract, associated with an estimated minimum $395 million in savings. | A current per-jet build price; the total reflects a particular contract and procurement strategy. |
The historical example shows why contract totals need context: the Navy described the approximately $4 billion agreement as a multiyear procurement and estimated at least $395 million in savings from that approach. Those figures describe the contract and its savings strategy, not a replacement for the FY21 unit-cost figure. The Navy’s historical multiyear procurement announcement provides that context.
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Is the Super Hornet still in regular procurement?
The Department of Defense’s FY2026 Program Acquisition Costs by Weapon System says the program “Continues Production Line Shutdown” and identifies FY2023 as the last year of E/F procurement. That status can be read alongside the separate 2024 award: regular procurement was winding down, while the Navy still ordered a final 17 new aircraft.
NAVAIR’s March 2024 announcement said deliveries for those 17 aircraft were scheduled to begin in winter 2026, with final delivery no later than spring 2027. That is the schedule announced at the time, not confirmation that the deliveries have since occurred.
Which aircraft does the figure refer to?
The official designation is F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, rather than simply “F-18.” NAVAIR describes the F/A-18E as the single-seat version and the F/A-18F as the two-seat version. The older F/A-18A-D Hornet is a different aircraft family; its cost figures should not be substituted for the Super Hornet’s.
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