EVENDALE, OHIO -- The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has awarded the Collier Trophy for 1999 to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet multi-mission aircraft, powered by F414-GE-400 turbofan engines, acknowledging the aircraft as the most significant aeronautical achievement of the past year. Considered the most prestigious honor in U.S. aviation, the NAA's Robert J. Collier Trophy was established in 1911 and is presented annually in recognition of "the greatest achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." "We are immensely proud that our F414 engines power this superb aircraft, and we are pleased that it has been accorded this well-deserved honor," said George Bolln, general manager of the F404/F414 Project Department of GE Aircraft Engines. Designed to replace the A-6 Intruder and the F-14 Tomcat as well as earlier models of the F/A-18 Hornet, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will perform a variety of tactical missions: air superiority, all-weather attack, day/night precision strike, close air support, and fighter escort, while providing increased payload and increased range, enhanced survivability, improved bring-back for ordnance, and greater growth potential to meet future demands. In mid-February, Rear Admiral John Nathman, Director, Naval Air Warfare Division, announced that the F/A-18E/F had received the highest grade the aircraft could receive during Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL), after completing "what we feel is the most rigorous acquisition process in the DOD [Department of Defense]." Rated "operationally effective and operationally suitable," the F/A-18E/F aircraft, each powered by two 22,000-pound-thrust F414-GE-400 engines, will deploy to the Navy's Abraham Lincoln Battle Group in 2002. Among the most tested fighter engines, the F414-GE-400 engine has demonstrated excellent operability, reliability, and throttle response while amassing more than 20,000 hours of ground and flight testing. Development flight testing has included successfully powering seven F/A-18E/F Super Hornet test aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, completing 3,172 flights and 4,673 aircraft flight hours during a four-year period. GE's F414-GE-400 engine was awarded Full Production Qualification certification in December 1998, and some 60 production engines have been delivered to date.