An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the ‘Fighting Checkmates’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Aug. 24, 2022. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with a statement from Boeing.
The Navy issued Boeing $200 million to keep its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production line humming ahead of a congressionally mandated 20 fighter buy, USNI News has learned. Read More
A sailor undergoes testing at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in 2021. US Navy Photo
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – What aircraft a Navy pilot could fly might come down to pure genetics – the range of motion of their thumb or how high their eye-line is when they sit. Read More
Sailor repositions a Boeing unmanned MQ-25 aircraft on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Production delays to manufacture Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray pushed its initial operational capability by a year, the head program executive in charge of Navy unmanned aerial systems said Monday. Read More
The following is the Feb. 9, 2023, Congressional Budget Office report, Availability and Use of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fighter Aircraft. Read More
An artist rendering of a CH-53K helicopter in Israeli Air Force livery. Sikorsky Photo
Israel late last month reached a deal to buy Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky’s heavy-lift helicopter, with the first aircraft slated for delivery in 2025, the Navy announced this week. Read More
The following is the Nov. 3, 2021, Congressional Research Service report: Air Force F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Program. Read More
F/A-18F Super Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, fly over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in the Atlantic Ocean, May 9, 2019. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If Congress mandates the Navy keep buying the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, the airframes will be in the fleet into the 2050s. But by then, the fourth-generation fighters likely couldn’t stand up to future threats, a service official said Tuesday. Read More
Rear Adm. Trent DeMoss. Navy Photo
The admiral in charge of naval aviation maintenance depots has been removed from command pending an investigation into harassment complaints in the wake of a Navy Inspector General investigation, two Navy officials told USNI News. Read More
CH-53K, K3, piloted by Mr. Rob Pupalaikis and Maj. Joshua Foxton, flies an aerial refueling test with an external load on Sept. 28, 2020, from NAS Patuxent River, MD. Sikorsky Photo.
Operational test Marines have begun flying the new CH-53K ahead of this summer’s planned test event to bring the heavy lift helicopter to initial operational capability, the Navy’s program manager said today. Read More
Marine Corps aviators in the CH-53K Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) experience a highly immersive virtual environment. Sikorsky photo.
The final of three CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter trainers has been declared “ready for training,” and an industry/government team next month will begin training the squadron that will conduct the new helo’s initial operational test and evaluation. Read More
