Boeing, Northrop to Produce Navy Plane

Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will share as much as $2 billion to design and build the Navy’s next radar-jamming aircraft, a version of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet the companies produce, Navy and industry officials said.

The companies together will build the “G” model of the Super Hornet, which is designed to detect and transmit to ground-attack planes the locations of surface-to-air radar and missile batteries.

Starting in 2009, the EA-18G will replace the aging EA-6B Prowler that is the military’s primary jamming aircraft.