What happens to the f-18 super hornets after the next gen fighter come out

[naiveessene]

The pentagon wants the replace the f-18 super hornets with a 6th generation fighter. What's going to happen with all the f-18 S hornets? Are they going to sell them to other countries? Or dump them in the scrapyard? Or keep them for reserve?

 

[t68]

The pentagon wants the replace the f-18 super hornets with a 6th generation fighter. What's going to happen with all the f-18 S hornets? Are they going to sell them to other countries? Or dump them in the scrapyard? Or keep them for reserve?

USN have stated the Super Hornets will remain in service till the mid 2030's, after that I imagine they will be stored at the boneyard for sometime and broken down for scrap.

USG does have a program for which you can have airframes for nothing if they have a certain amount of hours on them, as long as you pay to refurbish them in the US.

 

[King Wally]

...and don't be surprised if the fabled 6th gen replacement takes 5-10 years longer then expected to hit the runways either. The Super Hornet may well need to fill a gap even longer if other development programs through history paint an example of how time lines can slip when trying to introduce generational change in air frames.

 

[gf0012-aust]

The pentagon wants the replace the f-18 super hornets with a 6th generation fighter. What's going to happen with all the f-18 S hornets? Are they going to sell them to other countries? Or dump them in the scrapyard? Or keep them for reserve?

any airframes sold overseas are subject to FMS and ITARS provisions by the State Dept

Countries just can't buy them - and the US DoD cannot sell them outside of the State Dept (and I would assume at various stages, Congressional) approval loop

 

[velliin]

Time will tell. Just like the Kiowa and the Warthogs. News change overnight!

 

[StobieWan]

The pentagon wants the replace the f-18 super hornets with a 6th generation fighter. What's going to happen with all the f-18 S hornets? Are they going to sell them to other countries? Or dump them in the scrapyard? Or keep them for reserve?

By the time that comes around, the airframes will be fairly elderly and have lived a hard life on carrier decks for much of their lives. I'm suspecting they'll not be much good for re-use by then.

 

[kiwipatriot69]

Well if New Zealand can continue to operate 50 year old air transports like the C130 and P3 Orions for another ten years surely the USAF could do a similar life extension programme with upgrades on the Super hornets to do the same.

 

[gf0012-aust]

Well if New Zealand can continue to operate 50 year old air transports like the C130 and P3 Orions for another ten years surely the USAF could do a similar life extension programme with upgrades on the Super hornets to do the same.

the B52's will be 90 years old if they go through the proposed SLEP's - but extending the life of the B52's and C130's is very different from extending the life of the SHornets - and for that matter, the problems that surrounded extending the life of the classics

 

[StobieWan]

Well if New Zealand can continue to operate 50 year old air transports like the C130 and P3 Orions for another ten years surely the USAF could do a similar life extension programme with upgrades on the Super hornets to do the same.

Different working life for the two examples I'm afraid. The Hercs and P3s get less of a kicking. If they were slammed off a carrier deck three times a day for a few years, while being doused in salt water, they'd be tinsel.

 

[John Fedup]

Different working life for the two examples I'm afraid. The Hercs and P3s get less of a kicking. If they were slammed off a carrier deck three times a day for a few years, while being doused in salt water, they'd be tinsel.

Right on and fighters have more g-stresses than Hercs or P3s. Even without the carrier landings and saltwater, Hornets after 35 years are pretty tired, e.g. Cdn Hornet fleet. Some of the CF-18s will get life extensions to 2025 but after that they are done.

 

[barney41]

Additionally, corrosion arising from the maritime envionment they operate in is a major issue when considering SLEPs.

Admiral: Corrosion Damage on F/A-18 Hornets ‘Caught Us by Surprise’ | Military.com

 

[ADMk2]

Well if New Zealand can continue to operate 50 year old air transports like the C130 and P3 Orions for another ten years surely the USAF could do a similar life extension programme with upgrades on the Super hornets to do the same.

It's not so much a matter of 'can' it be done. The engineering authorities confirmed to the Australian Senate that the F-111's for instance 'could' be operated practically forever if enough investment was put into them, ie: from a purely technical point of view.

However there comes a time when the return upon your investment is not outweighed by the investment you are making, ie: the operational effect you can achieve with that platform is not worth the financial and engineering effort it takes to get it.

Sooner or later its better just to buy a new axe, rather than continuing to replace heads and handles, so to speak...

 

[StobieWan]

There's a rather vigorous debate (well, a totally uninformed p*ssing contest) going on in a thread on youtube about grounding XH558 and it keeps coming back to "well, it could be done" as if that were the answer.

Same deal here, as pointed out, it *could* be done but after a certain point, unless the platform has some utterly unique features that can't be replicated, it's better to just buy something new.

 

[gf0012-aust]

There's a rather vigorous debate (well, a totally uninformed p*ssing contest) going on in a thread on youtube about grounding XH558 and it keeps coming back to "well, it could be done" as if that were the answer.

Same deal here, as pointed out, it *could* be done but after a certain point, unless the platform has some utterly unique features that can't be replicated, it's better to just buy something new.

once you get to the 2/3rds mark of the "through life cycle" you're on a rapidly diminishing cost to capability dive.

very few platforms break and challenge that sustainment cost to capability cycle

anomalies like the B52's are certainly not the norm. combat aircraft in the main don't - transports can, but again it depends on how much of a flogging they're had and what stocks were sustained prior to killing off the production line.

 

[Masquerader]

With the US Navy pausing funds for the F/A-XX program to develop a stealthy replacement for the Super Hornet, I can surmise that the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will continue operating well into the 2030s once production of the Super Hornet ends this decade (the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare variant of the Super Hornet is still in production but that's another story) even if the F/A-XX is built. In this way, the Navy could acquire possibly between 100-120 F/A-XX aircraft to save future funding for Super Hornet and F-35C upgrades.