F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet
When the US Marine Corps retires
its last F/A-18s in 2030 the Hornet
will close out a career spanning
nearly 50 years. McDonnell
Douglas delivered the rst single-
seat F/A-18As to the marines in
January 1983 and the Hornet
remains the primary bridge to the
F-35B/C. Although the active-duty
squadrons will divest the Hornet
by 2030, it will stay in service with
the reserves until FY 2031. With
the exception of VMFA(AW)-242,
which will remain assigned to
MAG-12 at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan,
until 2028, all active-duty Hornets
will be consolidated at MCAS
Miramar by 2027.
The Hornet supports the MAGTF
by conducting multi-sensor
imagery reconnaissance, and
destroying surface targets and
enemy aircraft, day or night,
under all weather conditions,
during expeditionary, joint, or
combined operations. In addition
to supporting MAGTF operations
and the unit deployment program
(UDP) in Japan, two Marine Corps
Hornet squadrons are allocated to
US Navy CVWs under the TACAIR
integration program.
Ten active squadrons and one
from the reserve component
operate the Hornet. In December
2017, the inventory included
45 F/A-18As, ve F/A-18Bs, 137
F/A-18Cs and 92 F/A-18Ds. First
delivered in 1987, the F/A-18C
remains the most numerous
version in service, own by six
operational squadrons and the
FRS. As a result of the US Navy’s
retirement of its Hornets by
the end of 2019, USMC ‘ eet’
squadrons will be equipped with
Lot 15 or later F/A-18Cs.
The two-seat night attack
F/A-18D entered service with the
marines as a replacement for the
Grumman A-6E in the all-weatherstrike role in 1990. It has been
tasked with tactical reconnaissance
since 1999, when the Advanced
Tactical Air Reconnaissance System
(ATARS) was integrated. This can
collect and transmit digital imagery
in real time.
The D-model remains in service
with four operational squadrons
as well as VMFAT-101, tasked as
the FRS. It is scheduled to stand
down in FY 2023 and a eet
replacement detachment will be
activated within VMFA-323, which
will take on the aircrew training
responsibilities through FY 2029.
The primary mission aircraft
inventory (PMAI) for the Hornet
squadrons was retuned to 12
airframes in 2017. It had been
operating at a temporarily
degraded PMAI of just 10
airframes because of a backlog
of in-service support and a depot
backlog that had left the corps 40
aircraft short of its requirements.
Numerous programs are under
way to ensure the Hornet eet
remains viable until elding of
the Lightning II is completed.
Under the F/A-18 service life
management program (SLMP),
the center barrel replacement plus
(CBR+) e ort has extended the
service life of 210 Lot 17 and older
aircraft and the high ight hour
(HFH) inspection has taken the
lives of more than 160 F/A-18As
beyond 8,000 hours. Additionally,
a service life extension program
(SLEP) is extending the lives of
around 150 additional ‘hand-
selected’ F/A-18A/C/D models to
10,000 ight hours.
Avionics and software
upgrades to communications
and navigation systems
will incorporate Link 16
communication capability,
required navigation performance/
area navigation (RNP/RNAV),IFF Mode 5/S, and automatic
dependent surveillance-broadcast
(ADS-B) out. Sensor and weapons
improvements are incorporating
AIM-9X Block II, AIM-120D,
WGU-59/B 2.75in (70mm) laser-
guided Advanced Precision Kill
Weapon System (APKWS) rockets
and the AGM-154 Joint Stand-O
Weapon (JSOW) to the Hornet’s
inventory. Operational use of
the APKWS began in February- Survivability improvements
include the AN/ALQ-214(v)5
integrated defensive electronic
countermeasures (IDECM),
ALR-67(v)3 digital radar warning
receiver, AN/ALQ-231 Intrepid
Tiger II V1 Block X, and auto
ground collision avoidance system
(AGCAS). The aircraft will be made
capable of delivering the Joint
Direct Attack Munition-Extended
Range (JDAM-ER), Small Diameter
Bomb II (SDB II) and JSOW-C1. The
F404-GE-402 engines will receive
safety/reliability improvements.
Boeing, which had previously
converted 54 of the 61
F/A-18A+ aircraft to F/A-18A++
con guration, is now converting
30 low-time F/A-18Cs to
C+ standard. Scheduled for
completion in 2019, the project
is providing the F/A-18C with
digital communications, a
tactical datalink, Joint Helmet-
Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS),
multi-functional information
distribution system (MIDS),
tactical aircraft moving map
capabilities (TAMMAC) and new
full-color displays. The F/A-18C+
is compatible with the latest
G4 version of the AN/AAQ-28
Litening targeting pod, which
features advanced FLIR CCD/TV
and laser imaging sensors. The
upgraded F/A-18C+ began its rst
deployment to MCAS Iwakuni,
Japan with VMFA-115 in support
of the UDP in January 2016. The
marines also revealed plans to
replace the AN/APG-73 radar in
84 F/A-18C/Ds with a new active
electronically scanned array
(AESA) system. The service hopes
to install this in aircraft assigned
to seven eet squadrons. It had
earlier planned to upgrade the
AN/APG-73 radar in 72 F/A-18Ds
with a synthetic aperture radar
(SAR) capability.An F/A-18C of VMFA-323
‘Death Rattlers’. Jamie HunterSquadron Location Aircraft Command Tail code
VMFAT-101 (FRS)
‘Sharpshooters’
MCAS Miramar,
California F/A-18C/D MAG-11 SH
VMFA-112 ‘Cowboys’
(see note 1)
NAS JRB Fort Worth,
Texas F/A-18A++/C+ MAG-41 MA
VMFA-115 ‘Silver Eagles’MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina F/A-18A++/C+ MAG-31 VE
VMFA(AW)-224
‘Bengals’
MCAS Beaufort,
South Carolina F/A-18D MAG-31 WK
VMFA(AW)-225 ‘Vikings’
(see note 2)
MCAS Miramar,
California F/A-18D MAG-11 CE
VMFA-232 ‘Red Devils’ MCAS Miramar, California F/A-18C MAG-11 WT
VMFA(AW)-242 ‘Bats’ MCAS Iwakuni, Japan F/A-18D MAG-12 DT
VMFA-251
‘Thunderbolts’
(see note 3)MCAS Beaufort,
South Carolina F/A-18C MAG-31 DW
VMFA-312
‘Checkerboards’
MCAS Beaufort,
South Carolina F/A-18C/D MAG-31 DR/(NA)
VMFA-314 ‘Black
Knights’ (see note 4)
MCAS Miramar,
California F/A-18A++/C MAG-11 VW
VMFA-323 ‘Death
Rattlers’ (see note 5)
MCAS Miramar,
California F/A-18C MAG-11 WS(NH)
VMFA(AW)-533 ‘Hawks’MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina F/A-18D MAG-31 ED
1 Marine Corps Reserve squadron.
2 VMFA(AW)-225 will transition to the F-35B in FY 2020.
3 VMFA-251 deploys as part of CVW-1.
4 VMFA-314 will transition to the F-35C in FY 2019.
5 VMFA-323 deploys as part of CVW-11.US NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIR POWER YEARBOOK 2018
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS AIR POWER^9186-99 Marine Tables C.indd 91 01/06/2018 14:05