LAST CRUISES FOR
CLASSIC HORNETS
A
S THE US Navy gears up
to mark initial operating
capability (IOC) for the
F-35C Lightning II this year,
it has made plans to end
eet operations with the
‘classic’ F/A-18C. The US Navy is not
replacing these old Hornets with F-35Cs,
instead opting for a lower-risk strategy
of transitioning to additional F/A-18E/
Fs as it looks to divest itself of nearly
136 F/A-18A, B, C and D Hornets from its
front-line inventory by 2020.
Strike ghter squadrons VFA-34, VFA-37,
VFA-83 and VFA-131 will all be ying Super
Hornets by the end of 2019 as the ‘classic’
Hornet is cascaded to reserve adversary
and training roles. It will also help to prop
up weary Marine Corps Hornet squadrons,
which are ultimately set to soldier on for at
least another decade.The Navy will procure 110 additional
Super Hornets through FY23, bringing
total production to 706 aircraft.
When it comes to eet F-35C squadrons,
it will be Super Hornet units that re-equip.
VFA-147 ‘Argonauts’ has already started
switching its F/A-18Es for F-35Cs at NAS
Lemoore in preparation to support the
rst operational deployment aboard the
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in 2021.
Marine ghter attack squadron
VMFA-314 ‘Black Knights’ will start the
trend to remove ‘classic’ Hornets from the
ight deck once and for all. It is scheduled
to become the rst of four Marine Corps
F-35C units assigned to TACAIR integration
(TAI) with navy carrier air wings when it
begins its conversion from the F/A-
in 2019. The ‘Black Knights’ will be ready
for their rst carrier deployment in 2022
with CVW-11.Currently, the Marines have two TAI
Hornet squadrons — VMFA-312 and
VMFA-323. VMA-311 ‘Tomcats’ will switch
from the Harrier II to the F-35C at Yuma
from 2022, followed by VMFA-115 and
VMFA-251. Once su cient Marine F-35Cs
are available, probably with the readiness
of VMFA-311 to deploy, it will spell the
end of ‘classic’ Hornet operations aboard
Navy aircraft carriers.To keep track of the latest breaking
news and analysis in the world of military
air power you can visit our social media
sites and our website,
http://www.combataircraft.net.
You can also sign up for our free e-mail
newsletter by going to
http://www.combataircraft.net to register.Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: [email protected]http://www.combataircraft.net // May 2018 05
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