Navy retires F/A-18C Hornet from combat as F-35C nears operational status
Cpl. Dylan Lippard observes a replenishment-at-sea last month from atop an F/A-18C Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
ALEX CORONA/U.S. NAVY PHOTO
By
CAITLIN DOORNBOS | STARS AND STRIPESPublished: April 20, 2018
It’s the end of an era for the Navy’s F/A-18C Hornet; officials announced the jet’s recently completed deployment aboard the USS Carl Vinson was its last.
The service recently told Stars and Stripes it will no longer use the jet in combat or regular deployments, but will find other uses for the attack aircraft first deployed decades ago.
Though the three-month mission that ended March 12 was the Hornet’s final full deployment, Strike Fighter Squadron 34 will fly the jets in the 25-nation Rim of the Pacific exercise this summer, said Lt. j.g. Emily Judstra, a Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet spokeswoman.
After that, the Hornets will mainly be used in demonstrations and training with the Blue Angels, at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center and in reserve squadrons, she said.
The San Diego-based VFA-34 will be the last squadron to transition to the F/A-18E Super Hornets when it does so next February, Judstra said.
An F/A-18C Hornet takes off earlier this year from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Pacific Ocean.
SEAN CASTELLANO/U.S. NAVY PHOTO
The Hornet’s similarly looking successor, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, will continue to be used in deployments and combat.
The Super Hornet, which was rolled out in 1999, is about 25 percent larger with “increased maneuverability, range, payload and more powerful engines” than its predecessor, according to Boeing.
The F/A-18C’s departure creates room for newer fighter jets on flight decks. The Navy’s F-35C Lightning II is coming closer to operational status, completing fleet carrier qualifications last month.
The service said last fall that its version of the F-35 — which has drawn scrutiny over a predicted $1 trillion-plus cost of operations over its expected 60-year life span — will reach initial operational capacity this year.
The Hornet’s first C models entered active duty in 1987 and cost $29 million each. In its earlier years, the jet “[broke] all records for tactical aircraft in availability, reliability and maintainability,” the Navy said
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/nav...at-as-f-35c-nears-operational-status-1.522981
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