The Navy has been procuring F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters since FY1997. Super Hornets and older F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornets currently account for the majority of the aircraft in the Navy's 10 active-duty aircraft carrier air wings (CVWs)—of the 70 or so aircraft in each CVW, more than 40 typically are Hornets and Super Hornets. In FY2006, the Navy also began procuring the EA-18G Growler, an electronic warfare version of the Super Hornet. Growlers are replacing older Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft. Super Hornets and Growlers were procured in FY2005-FY2009 under a multiyear procurement (MYP) arrangement. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests about $2.4 billion for the procurement of 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and about $1.1 billion for the procurement of 12 EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The Navy's FY2011 request for 22 F/A-18E/Fs comes in the context of a projected shortfall in Navy and Marine Corps strike fighters. Estimates of the extent of the shortfall vary, with the peak of the shortfall ranging from 100 aircraft by one estimate to 243 or more aircraft according to other estimates. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a Navy strike fighter, meaning a tactical aircraft that can perform both air-to-ground (strike) and air-to-air (fighter) operations. The Super Hornet is a larger, more modern, and more capable version of the earlier F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet, which is operated by both the Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy has been procuring F/A-18E/F Super Hornets since FY1997. Hornets and Super Hornets currently form the core of the Navy's aircraft carrier air wings (CVWs)—of the 70 or so aircraft in each CVW, more than 40 typically are Hornets and Super Hornets. In FY2012, he Navy is also procuring the F-35C—the Navy version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Navy plans call for phasing Hornets out of service and for CVWs in the future to include a strike fighter mix of Super Hornets and F-35Cs. As shown in Table 1 , through FY2011 the Navy has procured a total of 489 F/A-18E/Fs. Super Hornets were procured in FY2000-FY2004 under an MYP arrangement, and both Super Hornets and Growlers were procured in FY2005-FY2009 under a second MYP arrangement. In September 2010, during consideration of the FY2011 defense budget, Congress approved a third MYP arrangement retroactive to FY2010. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of 28 F/A-18E/Fs, estimating the total procurement cost of these aircraft at $2,369.0 million, or an average of about $84.6 million each. These 28 aircraft received $2.3 million in prior-year advance procurement funding, leaving $2,366.7 million to be provided in FY2012 to complete their procurement cost. The proposed FY2012 budget also requests $65.0 million in advance procurement funding for F/A-18E/Fs to be procured in future fiscal years, and $77.2 million in funding for F/A-18E/F initial spares, bringing the total amount of procurement funding requested for FY2012 to $2,508.9 million. The estimated average procurement cost of about $84.6 million for the 22 F/A-18E/Fs requested for FY2012 is higher than the estimated average procurement costs of the 23 F/A-18E/Fs procured in FY2008 (about $80.8 million), but less than the 18 F/A-18E/Fs procured in FY2010 (about $86.9 million). This may reflect the fact that the F/A-18E/Fs procured in FY2009 were procured under an MYP arrangement. The FY2012 budget submission projects a total procurement of 556 F/A-18E/Fs, with the final 39 aircraft to be procured in FY2013-2014. This is 41 aircraft more than envisioned in the FY2011 budget submission "to mitigate Joint Strike Fighter delays." The Navy's FY2012 budget justification materials state that F/A-18E/F advance procurement funding requested in FY2012 is to support the planned procurement of 28 aircraft in FY2013. The F/A-18E/F was approved for export in June 2001. A sale of 24 to Australia was completed in May 2007. The first of the 24 was accepted by Australia on July 8, 2009, and 12 of the 24 are being wired to provide an option for converting them relatively easily into EA-18Gs. The F/A-18 is currently competing in a major fighter procurement in Brazil. Decisions on sales to other countries reportedly could be announced in 2012. The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft for jamming enemy radars and communications. The EA-18G shares the F/A-18F's airframe and avionics and is built on the same assembly line. The Department of the Navy is procuring EA-18Gs as replacements for aging Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft, which help protect Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force aircraft operating in hostile airspace. As shown in Table 1 , through FY2011 the Navy has procured a total of 90 EA-18Gs. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of 12 EA-18Gs. The FY2012 budget estimates the total procurement cost of these aircraft at $1,134.4 million, or an average of about $94.5 million each. These 12 aircraft received $55.1 million in prior-year advance procurement funding, leaving $1,079.4 million to be provided in FY2012 to complete their procurement cost. The proposed FY2012 budget also requests $28.1 million in advance procurement funding for EA-18Gs to be procured in future fiscal years, bringing the total amount of procurement funding requested for FY2011 to $1,107.5 million. Although the Navy had testified that it is planning a total procurement of 88 EA-18Gs, the administration's FY2012 request projects a fleet of 114, which would leave a final 12 aircraft to be procured in FY2013. In March 2008, it was reported that the Australian government was considering to purchase some number of EA-18Gs for that country's air force. As mentioned earlier, it was reported in July 2009 that 12 of the 24 F/A-18E/Fs purchased by Australia are being wired to provide an option for converting them relatively easily into EA-18Gs. The FY2012 budget submission includes an analysis of the multiyear procurement plan authorized by Congress in September 2010. Under this plan, 107 F/A-18E/F and 58 EA-18Gs will be acquired from FY2010 through FY2014 under a fixed price incentive fee contract. DOD estimates the total cost avoidance by using multiyear procurement to be $580.9 million. The Navy and Marine Corps, which are both part of the Department of the Navy (DON), each operate strike fighters. Strike fighters constitute the majority of the aircraft in each of the Navy's 10 active-duty aircraft carrier air wings (CVWs) —of the 70 or more aircraft typically embarked on a Navy aircraft carrier, 44 typically are strike fighters. Strike fighters also constitute a significant portion of the Marine Corps' three active-duty Marine air wings (MAWs). Some Marine Corps strike fighters are assigned to Navy CVWs. As of early 2009, the Navy operated about 380 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters, the Navy and Marine Corps operated a total of about 620 older F/A-18A-D Hornet strike fighters, and the Marine Corps operated about 125 AV-8B Harrier II short takeoff, vertical landing attack aircraft. In coming years, the Navy plans to retire its Hornets and shift to a combination of Super Hornets and F-35Cs, while the Marine Corps plans to retire its Hornets and Harriers and shift to strike fighter force composed entirely of F-35Bs. DON's inventory of strike fighters currently falls short of the number that Navy officials state is required to fully support requirements for Navy and Marine Corps air wings, and the Navy is projecting that this shortfall will grow in coming years. DOD's addition of 41 aircraft to the F-18 force is intended to partially mitigate this shortfall. In testimony to the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates projected the shortfall at "about a hundred aircraft in 2018," noting that "there are a number of strategies that people have in mind for—for mitigating that shortfall." In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on March 24, 2010, the Navy's acquisition chief put the shortfall at "177 aircraft in a 2017 timeframe." Commentators have referred to other estimates, including Navy testimony, putting the shortfall as high as 243 aircraft. Asked to reconcile the various numbers, Rear Admiral Allen G. Myers, USN Director of Warfare Integration, stated: Last year in PB '09, I briefed that we were forecasting in the later teens, starting in 2016 through 2018, a Strike Fighter shortfall with the U.S. Navy of 69 aircraft, and the Department of Navy, 125. That was assuming that all of our legacy F-18s, A through D, could get to 10,000 hours.