F/A-18 Production To Remain Open

[tomahawk6]

The F-35 was supposed to replace the F/A-18,but teething problems remain and USN squadrons are short aircraft.For the interim a stay of execution for the F/A-18 program.

http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/29/boeings-fa-18-marked-for-death-gets-a-new-lease-on.aspx?source=yahoo-2&utm_campaign=article&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=yahoo-2&yptr=yahoo

As recently as a couple of years ago, analysts were forecasting the imminent closing of Boeing's F/A-18 production line in St. Louis -- and not just analysts. At the time, even Boeing's own Defense, Space & Security head, Chris Chadwick, was quoted lamenting that Boeing had "to face reality," and predicting that the company was only months away from being forced to decide whether it should shut down F/A-18 production or keep the lines open in hopes new orders would magically materialize. Ultimately, Boeing decided to keep production running -- and good for them.

Because it turns out the F/A-18 just might have a future after all.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Meanwhile USN having big problems keeping legacy Hornets (and to some extent Super Hornets) operational:

U.S. Naval Aviation’s Readiness Crisis

The U.S. Navy’s strike fighter squadrons are in dire straits with only one out of three Boeing F/A-18 Hornet airframes being ready for war at any given time. In order to meet its operational requirements, the service is routinely raiding squadrons that are not deployed to secure enough jets for the air wings at are about to go to sea.

“If I have to ensure that I have ten like strike fighters are in a single squadron on that aircraft carrier and they need the same capability, I will tax units that are back here at home,” Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command testified before the House Armed Services Committee on May 26. “If I need ten forward, I do routinely operate four aircraft in squadrons in the rear.”

Within the Navy, only one out of four Hornets is fully mission capable. “That one in four is currently deployed,” Capt. Randy Stearns, Commodore of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic told the committee. “The other three in four are the aircraft that are back in the maintenance phase or going through another FRP [fleet response plan].”

The Navy currently has four air wings that are ready for war, but it has no ability to surge any additional forces. In previous years, it would have taken the Navy about 90 days to ready another air wing for deployment—now it takes roughly three times as long. If tasked to surge another air wing, Stearns said that it would take between six months and a year to gather enough aircraft and pilots to get another air wing ready for war.  “There is no chance of getting those ready,” Stearns said. “There is nothing to pull from in the back, we’ve already put everything forward. There’s nothing left.”

Though cannibalization of operational Hornets is a last resort, such measures are now routine throughout the fleet, Stearns said. And its not just the legacy A through D model Hornets, the newer, more capable Super Hornets have also been suffering from a lack of spare spares over the last three years due to automatic sequestration budget cuts. “We’ve never caught up,” Stearns said.

Part of the problem was caused by repeated delays to the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter—but also wartime usage of the Hornet fleet, Stearns said...
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/us-naval-aviations-readiness-crisis-16367

As for CF-18s until 2025?
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/business-defence-acquisition-guide-2016/aerospace-systems-975.page

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Spare parts, figure out how much you need and then double it.

 

[CougarKing]

Speaking of legacy Hornets...

Popular Mechanics

Delays in the F-35 Mean the Marines Are Dusting Off Retired F-18s

By Kyle Mizokami
Jun 13, 2016

The U.S. Marine Corps is reactivating thirty older F/A-18C Hornet fighters sitting in storage and updating them to a new "C+" status. The move is prompted by a half-decade delay in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Thirty F/A-18C Hornets kept at the U.S. military's aircraft storage facility at Davis-Monathan Air Force Base (also known as "The Boneyard") are being restored to flight condition and upgraded with new avionics, including a modernized radar, likely the AN/APG-73. The planes will temporarily equip two fighter attack squadrons while they await the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Marines are currently suffering an acute fighter shortage. Under the current force structure, they should have 150 Hornets ready to go. Instead, they have just 87. Budget issues and a high post 9/11 operating tempo, combined with an aging and expensive-to-operate fighter fleet have created a dire readiness problem.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[MarkOttawa]

More on USN/USMC problems with classic Hornets--any RCAF implications?

U.S. Navy Struggling With Readiness

The U.S. Navy is facing a readiness issue, with its older-model F/A-18 fighter jets tied up in maintenance, leading to reduced flight-training hours.

Navy flight hours have decreased to about 853,389 in 2015, from about 1.2 million in 2002, according to the Naval Safety Center. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps leaders bemoan the lack of flight training time—as well as the maintenance backlog, especially for F/A-18s.

The service, explains Rear Adm. Mike Manazir, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems, has tiered readiness standards for pilot training. The earliest phases are the workups before deployments; the levels become increasingly involved as a deployment approaches.

“Where we are taking the readiness hits is in the lower phase,” he says, affecting the Navy’s ability to surge flight operations.

Marine pilots also cannot get enough flight-training time, says Marine Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for Aviation. “We don’t have enough parts,” he has testified to Congress. “We don’t have enough planes.” The service only sends aloft about one-third of its Hornets at any given time.

The delay in producing F-35Bs and Cs has put more strain on the legacy Hornets, many of which are in depots awaiting work to keep them operational longer. As a result, the Navy has had to go to sea sooner and more often with Super Hornets, which are now also reaching their planned service lives much more quickly than expected...

Only a quarter of the aircraft are fully capable and ready for combat, he says. Those are already in deployed squadrons. But because of the depot backlogs, parts problems and scarcity of aircraft, it could take six months to a year to get the other three-quarters of the force ready to fly.

Federal budget sequestration cuts have also slashed away at availability. Fewer aircraft translates to less flight time for training, which increases the risk of accidents.

A recent rash of mishaps comes at a time when Boeing is trying not only to unknot the backup of work on older-model Hornets, but also prepare for Super Hornet life-extension work.

Boeing has started preliminary assessments of what is needed to overhaul the aircraft, increase its combat life and keep it relevant much later into the century, says Dan Gillian, Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18G Growler programs vice president...
http://aviationweek.com/defense/us-navy-struggling-readiness

Mark
Ottawa

 

[tomahawk6]

Well the USN feels that the Hornet can fill a niche role,they are seeking to increase the size of its fleet and will upgrade the rest to give it next generation technology,namely ATFLIR.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/us-navy-wants-more-f-18-super-hornets-some-serious-upgrades-16947

F/A-18s are being outfitted with a real-time video sharing technology called Advanced Targeting FLIR; the system uses electro-optical and infrared cameras with powerful laser technology. This addition will help pilots more quickly zero in on and attack targets with a wider and longer-range envelope of engagement.
ATFLIR can locate and designate targets day or night at ranges exceeding 40 nautical miles and altitudes surpassing 50,000 feet, outperforming comparable targeting systems. As a powerful net-enabler, it can pass tracking and targeting information to other nodes in the networked battlespace,” a Raytheon statement said.