Key Points and Summary – The F/A-18 Super Hornet remains the workhorse of U.S. naval aviation, but its future is defined by upgrades and its eventual replacement.
-While a capable platform, it’s not without problems; a recent GAO report detailed delays in its new Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system due to software glitches.
(Dec. 7, 2024) LT Steven Holcomb, attached to the Gunslingers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105, operates a F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck during flight operations, Dec. 7, 2024. USS George H.W. Bush is in the basic phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan conducting flight deck certification.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jayden Brown)
-More significantly, Boeing will shut down the Super Hornet production line after 2027 due to a lack of new international orders.
-With production ending, all eyes are now on the Navy’s controversial 6th-generation F/A-XX program to provide the future of carrier airpower.
The Future of the F/A-18 Super Hornet Fleet: Continuous Upgrades and Waiting for the F/A-XX
Today, the Navy builds two Super Hornet versions: the E model, a single-seat aircraft, and the F model, which features a two-pilot cockpit.
“Both are true multi-role aircraft, able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum,” Northrup Grumman explains, “including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.”
Since its introduction into service with the US Navy, the Super Hornet has seen numerous upgrades incorporated into the jet, including an active electronically scanned array radar, as well as “an advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR), joint-helmet mounted cueing system (JHMCS), multifunctional information distribution system (MIDS), and an advanced aft crew station.”
Based on the F/A-18 Hornet, an older Cold War-era naval fighter that first flew in the late 1970s, the Super Hornet is a development. Though the two aircraft are outwardly similar, they are, in essence, different aircraft.
For starters, the Super Hornet is about a fifth larger than the Hornet predecessor: it has bigger wings, an elongated fuselage, and the Super Hornet’s horizontal stabilizers are larger. And despite their similar looks, they share only about 10 percent of their parts in common.
Thanks to the Super Hornet’s F404 engines, that jet boasts greater thrust and fuel efficiency, also affording it a higher maximum takeoff weight. About a third more internal fuel storage also gives the Super Hornet much greater range and endurance.
In summary, the Super Hornet is larger, has a longer range, offers more power, and is a more modern aircraft, although it has sacrificed some agility in pursuit of these upgrades. Today, it is the workhorse of the United States Navy’s naval aviation and serves on all American aircraft carriers.
(Jan 31, 2009) An F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31 launches from the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 are operating in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility and are focused on reassuring regional partners of the United States’ commitment to security, which promotes stability and global prosperity (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder/Released)
A Bump in the Road
Although the United States Navy has extensively upgraded the F/A-18 Super Hornet since it first entered service, the fighter, although mature, is not problem-free. One issue that continues to plague the platform is its Infrared Search And Track system, a pod mounted on the jet’s centerline on the nose section.
When properly functioning, the device detected infrared radiation, providing the pilot with tracking and targeting data.
However, the device is not working as it should.
A report from the Government Accountability Office, an independent and non-partisan agency that provides auditing and project evaluation services for the United States Congress, explains the core issues facing the IRST pods on the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
“In November 2024, the IRST program achieved initial capability on schedule by completing initial operational testing and accepting delivery of the first lot of low-rate initial production IRST pods. However,” the full GAO report notes, “the program reported that it would not reach a full-rate production decision by its baseline schedule threshold in January 2025 due to delays incurred during flight testing.
“IRST officials told us that operational tests were delayed by 2 months due to software defects that caused IRST pods to falsely report overheating. Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) officials told us that the defect was relatively easy to fix and would likely have been addressed during developmental testing had the program allocated more time for that testing.” The Government Accountability Office added that “this is the second time the program breached its baseline schedule in the past 3 years.”
Out with the Old, in with the New
Though the US Navy and the aerospace firms behind the original design and contributing to its sustainment today tout the platform’s capabilities, the reality is that the United States Navy is turning toward more advanced platforms for fleet defense and strike.
Like the United States Air Force, which recently selected Boeing’s F-47 as the winner of the Next Generation Air Dominance program to succeed the F-22 Raptor, the Navy is still running its own sixth-generation fighter program.
That initiative, which features an aircraft provisionally called the F/A-XX, serves as the counterpoint to a network of systems dubbed the Next Generation Air Dominance program. Confusingly, that initiative shares its name with the Air Force’s concluded program, though they are distinctly separate initiatives.
Although it seemed that the Air Force’s F-47 program might jeopardize the Navy program’s future, Congress recently stepped in to preserve funding for the F/A-XX.
Sorry, F/A-18 Super Hornet
Regardless of interest or demand for the F/A-XX, the F/A-18 Super Hornet in all its variants will soon be phased out.
What caused the production line shutdown? A lack of international interest. “We ran a number of international campaigns or competitions that we were unsuccessful in previous years,” Boeing vice president for fighters, Mark Sears, said in an interview at the Sea Air Space forum. “Those kind of played out and there are no active discussions with the Navy about additional F-18s beyond these.”
Sears also explained that beyond 2027, there is no practical reason to keep the F/A-18 Super Hornet production line open.
However, the aerospace firm will continue to manufacture spare parts and consumables central to sustaining Super Hornet operations.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
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