The Plan For Making Aging USMC F/A-18 Hornets Deadlier Than Ever For A Final Decade Of Service
Major upgrades and a smart fleet management plan will give the Marines the most potent Hornets ever during the twilight of the type’s service.
BY
JAMIE HUNTER
|
UPDATED NOV 27, 2020 6:24 PM EST
The Plan For Making Aging USMC F/A-18 Hornets Deadlier Than Ever For A Final Decade Of Service
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JAMIE HUNTER
The U.S. Marine Corps is moving towards a streamlined fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35B and C-model Lightning IIs for all of its tactical aircraft (TACAIR) needs post-2030. While USMC leadership juggles the exact planning over the number of the stealthy fighters it will need to meet future requirements, both the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II and F/A-18A-D Hornet fleets will continue to provide Close Air Support (CAS) for Marines on the ground and air cover above the battlefield. Under current plans, the Harrier II will bow out in Fiscal Year 2028, followed by the Hornet in 2030.
The aging Marine Corps Hornet fleet is composed of a range of 1980s-era F/A-18A-D models, all of which have undergone various upgrades. Now, in order to bridge the decade-long gap between now and the type's retirement, a select batch of approximately 84 Hornets has been earmarked to make it through to the planned “sundown” despite their advanced years via a series of upgrades, the likes of which the Hornet has never seen.
With the Hornet considered to be the USMC’s most potent air-to-air and air-to-ground “legacy” fighter aircraft, the so-called “best-in-breed” are now receiving High Flight Hour (HFH) inspections during depot-level maintenance that will see them out to 10,000 flight hours. Concurrently, they are being equipped with new technology that will enable them to bridge the gap to the Marine Lightning fleet of 2030-onwards.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36435/the-plan-for-making-aging-marine-corps-hornets-deadlier-than-ever-for-a-final-decade-of-service
