Aero India: Missing the Super Duper Hornet

I'd like to think I know a thing or two about fighters, especially popular ones such as Boeing's F-18 E/F Super Hornet, which I've probably seen a few thousand times in print and a dozen times in person.

Hence my dismay when reviewing the flight line this morning. The second F-18 on the line looked different: conformal fuel tanks, big pod underneath, IRST sensor under the nose, etc. All new stuff.  What's more, the 'upgraded' aircraft had no markings.

"Did I miss all this when I walked by yesterday?" I asked myself. "What kind of aircraft observer am I?"

Of course, all the new additions are not for real, only mock-ups of what will one day be available for international customers of the Super Hornet under Boeing's Super Hornet International Road Map program.

I was relieved when Boeing later told me that the mock-ups were installed the previous evening after I had left the flight line. Going back through my pictures, though, I saw that my photo of the Super Hornet in question was in the process of being 'upgraded' during my walk, with a team busy loading the external weapons bay, and the IRST sensor is apparent beneath the nose. Oh well, at least I didn't miss those shape-changing conformal fuel tanks.

Incidentally, the aircraft's markings - the plane comes from VFA-113 - were removed lest observers get the impression that the navy had deployed the various options on display.