US Notifies Congress of $250 Million Super Hornet and Growler Training Package for Australia

Overview

• The State Department issued Transmittal #26-57 to publicly notify a consolidated Foreign Military Sale that estimates training and related support for Australia’s F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler at $250 million.
• The package covers both classified and unclassified aircrew and maintenance training, protective personnel equipment, U.S. government and contractor technical and logistics support, and related manuals and training documentation.
• The case began at $18 million and grew through amendments in 2015 (+$39 million) and 2018 (+$72 million), which pushed the total past the congressional notification threshold but was not reported at that time because of a technical error now corrected by the transmittal.
• The transmittal says there is no principal contractor for the sale, training will be delivered by U.S. government or contract vendors, and implementation will not require additional U.S. personnel to be assigned to Australia; these steps build on existing arrangements such as Raytheon’s Amberley training contract and a separate $2 billion sustainment package cleared in 2025.
• The State Department frames the sale as supporting U.S. foreign policy and national security by improving Australia’s ability to meet threats and operate with U.S. forces, while noting the transaction will not alter the basic military balance in the Western Pacific.