Canada Mimics Marine Corps Makeover for F/A-18C/D Fleet

摘要

With operators in Europe, the Middle East and Asia looking on, an upgrade package approved by the State Department on June 16 for up to 36 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) F/A-18C/Ds cements a new configuration aimed at keeping the Boeing-made jets in service decades beyond their planned retirement dates.A group of Raytheon-made sensors and weapons-APG-79(v)4 active, electronically scanned array radars, AIM-9X Block Ⅱ air-to-air missiles and AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapons-will be included in the RCAF's newly defined Phase 2 upgrade to help keep a subset of the 94-member CF-18 fleet operating into the 2030s. The State Department previously cleared Canada to acquire 32 AIM-120D advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles for the CF-18.