The Navy's F/A-18 Hornet Is Getting a 'Quantum Leap' Upgrade
Even as the Marine Corps has ended training on the Harrier II, it will continue to F/A-18 training with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323. Moreover, due to delays with the fifth-generation F-35, the USMC is now seeing one-third of its Hornet fleet upgraded so that it can remain in operation until 2030 or later.
Summary and Key Points: The United States Marine Corps (USMC) recently held a "sundown ceremony" for its Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, marking the end of training for the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet.
-Despite this, the USMC continues to modernize one-third of its F/A-18 fleet to keep them operational until 2030 or beyond.
-Upgrades include enhanced radar, electronic countermeasures, and avionics. While the F/A-18s are being updated, delays in the delivery of the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II mean the USMC will continue to rely on the Hornet for the foreseeable future.
F/A-18 Hornets Get New Life as USMC Faces F-35 Production Challenges
Last fall, the United States Marine Corps held a "sundown ceremony" at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, for its Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) – the unit that had been dedicated to training pilots to fly the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet. It marked the end of the line for the SharpSHooters (the unit's official nickname), which was activated in 1969 to train aviators to fly the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II before transitioning to the F/A-18 in the 1980s.
The USMC has been slowly retiring its older F/A-18 Hornets and earlier this year ended the training for the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II continues to enter service.
Even as the Marine Corps has ended training on the Harrier II, it will continue to F/A-18 training with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323. Moreover, due to delays with the fifth-generation F-35, the USMC is now seeing one-third of its Hornet fleet upgraded so that it can remain in operation until 2030 or later. While the U.S. Navy is noted for operating the F/A-18, the aircraft first entered service with the USMC in 1983, replacing the F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair. The Navy adopted the aircraft a year later.
According to a report from Flight Global this week, the USMC has reached the halfway point in the modernization of its single-seat Boeing F/A-18Cs and two-seat F/A-18Ds. The aging aircraft "are receiving enhanced sensor and communications capabilities, bringing their performance closer to that of the newer F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and endowing the types with greater commonality."
The Hornets will be equipped with Raytheon Technologies' APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. It is already in service on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. In addition, the older F/A-18s will receive new Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures, and GPS anti-jamming capabilities, along with other avionics hardware and software improvements, the aviation trade publication further noted.
The upgrades to the F/A-18 have been welcomed by Marine Corps aviators.
"'Game-changing' is the phrase that most-frequently comes back from the fleet pilots," USMC Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Wort told Flight Global. "They're still working in the same cockpit but the radar in particular is a quantum leap forward for the Hornet."
The Upgrades Can't Stop the Inevitable for the F/A-18
The United States Marine Corps currently operates a total of 179 F/A-18C/D models, but not all will go through the modernization program. Instead, about a third of the fleet has been selected to receive the enhancements, which will enable the aircraft to remain in service until the end of the decade, and perhaps a bit longer.
"On paper, 2030 is the year for Hornet sundown," Wort added. "But obviously a lot can change in five or six years. We need to be postured to flex as required."
While the U.S. Navy will continue to receive new F/A-18 Super Hornets until at least 2027, the Marine Corps is instead looking ahead to the F-35.
As previously reported, delivery of the F-35 to the U.S. military has been delayed due to issues with the Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3). Even when that issue is resolved, Lockheed Martin continues to struggle to produce enough aircraft to fill all of its orders. That will likely require the Marine Corps to keep flying the F/A-18 Hornet for a bit longer.
Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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