US Navy eyes more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to deal with shortage of carrier-borne fighters

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Naval Industry News - US Navy
 
 
 
US Navy eyes more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to deal with shortage of carrier-borne fighters
 
The US Navy plans to buy dozens of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jets to deal with a shortage of fighters aboard its carriers, Reuters said on Saturday Dec. 3, quoting a Navy official. This plan, which still has to be finalized, coud be implemented in the fiscal year 2018 budget alongside the procurement of the F-35C carrier variant.
     
US Navy eyes more F A 18E F Super Hornets to deal with shortage of carrier borne fighters 640 001A US Navy Super Hornet fighter jet
(Credit: Boeing Defense)
     
"To decrease the strike fighter shortfall and to best prepare future air wings for likely threats we will soon divest from legacy Hornets, look to buy several squadrons worth of Super Hornets and continue with efforts to bring on the F-35 carrier variant," said the official quoted by Reuters.

According to the report, the US Navy will face a shortage of about 70 fighter jets in the coming years due to higher usage rates and higher maintenance times than expected for the Super Hornets and delays in the development of the carrier-based F-35C fighter jet, designed and produced by the US defense giant Lockheed Martin.

In service with the US Navy since June 2001, the F/A-18E/F is a twin-engine multirole fighter. Besides US, the Super Hornet has already been purchased by Australia, which bought 24 fighters in May 2007 for the Royal Australian Air Force. The aircraft has also been recently by Kuwait in a potential US$ bn foreign military sale, while Canada plans to buy 18 interim F/A-18E/F aircraft as it plans to replace fighter fleet.