Navy Wants to Buy More Hornets

In the testimony before the Senate last week Roughead's prepared statement (PDF) had some interesting comments under the section labeled "Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)". The comments actually are intended to float an idea to buy 69 more F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters.

The increased operational tempo (OPTEMPO) of our legacy aircraft is consuming service life at an accelerated rate. The recent groundings of high demand P-3 aircraft highlight the need to bring the next generation of aircraft in service and retire our aging aircraft. The JSF provides expanded capability that will meet the needs of our Navy, Joint Forces, and international partners. Because of the high OPTEMPO of the current strike aircraft fleet, and despite JSF’s initial operational capability (IOC) and delivery in 2015, we anticipate a shortfall of strike aircraft from 2016-2025. Further delays in JSF will exacerbate this strike fighter gap. Navy’s FY 2009 investment of $3.4 billion includes procurement of eight aircraft and continued R&D for aircraft and engine development.

Makes sense to us, the Hornets have been at a high operational tempo in support of both Afghanistan and Iraq. You can only get so much out of these planes before you have to retire them, and there is a reason landing on an aircraft carrier is a controlled crash. The strains on the aircraft for carrier operations was going to be felt at some point, and all three presidential candidates are discussing 'resetting the military' as is Congress, so it is good timing to float the issue. The period of 2016-2025 is when the USS Gerald Ford (CVN 78) and later CVN-79 will be entering service, giving the Navy a fleet of 11 then 12 aircraft carriers. Navy Times goes on to provide additional details.

Roughead said he doesn’t know if the Navy would buy the existing E- or F-variants of the venerable fighter or if planners would be interested in a so-called “4.75 generation Hornet” with improved avionics that manufacturer Boeing has mentioned as an option for some defense clients.

The fly away cost of new Super Hornets is around $60 million per, meaning a buy of 69 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters would be around $4.2 billion in FY09. Because we love to give hell to the Air Force, we note that would buy about 24 F-22As.

With Boeing involved in the Tanker chaos, this offers Congress an opportunity to make amends with voters. While there are huge differences between the $35+ billion tanker deal and a $4.2 billion Hornet deal, this is a good place to start. You never know, in a year or so we could be talking about Super Hornets for India, to fly off a certain aircraft carrier that we still believe will one day fly the Indian flag.