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
Tag Archives: OPNAV
New Navy Surface Warfare Vision: The Competitive Edge
The following is the Jan. 11, 2022 U.S. Navy surface warfare vision, Surface Warfare: The Competitive Edge. Read More
Report to Congress on F-15EX Eagle II Fighter
The following is the Nov. 3, 2021, Congressional Research Service report: Air Force F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Program. Read More
Navy Questions Future Viability of Super Hornets; Recommends Against New Buy
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
CNO Gilday: Navy Needs ‘Fundamental Change’ in How it Develops Fighters
An F/A-18 Super Hornet, attached to embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, breaks the sound barrier during an air power demonstration, showcasing firepower capability and maneuverability while at sea in the Indo-Pacific region in 2020. US Navy Photo
A decade from now, the backbone of the Navy’s tactical air fleet will begin to retire with no clear successor in line yet. Read More
Introduction to the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance Program
The following is the Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program: An Introduction. Read More
Navy Quietly Starts Development of Next-Generation Carrier Fighter; Plans Call for Manned, Long-Range Aircraft
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the “’olden Warriors’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87, launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on May 26, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to clarify comments from Bryan Clark.
After nearly a decade of fits and starts, the Navy has quietly initiated work to develop its first new carrier-based fighter in almost 20 years, standing up a new program office and holding early discussions with industry, USNI News has learned. Read More
Navy Cuts Super Hornet Production to Develop Next-Generation Fighter
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 sits chocked and chained on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) on Aug. 24, 2018. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to truncate production of the legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in favor of pumping money into accelerating the development of its long-gestating next-generation carrier-based fighter program, the service revealed in its Fiscal Year 2021 budget request. Read More
Navy Still Mulling Post-F-35C Aviation Combatant; Could be Mix of Manned, Unmanned Aircraft
A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II, attached to Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing, the ‘Argonauts’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, completes a flight over Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Feb. 1, 2019. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy is unclear how it will proceed with its next generation of aviation combatants following the introduction of the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter into the carrier air wing, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on Thursday. Read More
Navy Has No Plans Develop Lethal Carrier UAV Before MQ-25A Hits Flight Decks
X-47B Salty Dog 501 flies over USS Theodore Roosevelt on Aug. 17, 2014. US Naval Institute Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy won’t pursue the development of a lethal carrier-based unmanned aircraft before it fields its unmanned MQ-25A Stingray tanker sometime in the 2020s, the service’s requirements chief said last week. Read More
