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Multi-year Super Hornet purchase coming

Fog

Fog

Old RIOs never die: They just can't fast-erect
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Contributor
FWIW, Forbes business news is reporting today (Oct 7) that the House & Senate Appropriations Committees have approved a multi-year purchase of new Super Hornets if an acceptable price can be negotiated. The article (sorry, couldn't link it) didn't say how many a/c involved or for how many years. Given that F-35s aren't likely to reach the fleet before 2015, I would guess at least a 3 - 4 year purchase is contemplated. This is good news for the Navy, IMHO, because the Super Hornet has just been a great a/c for the Navy in most every respect.
 
Per the current issue of AW&ST magazine, congress will purchase 18 (instead of scheduled 9) Super Hornets in FY10, 22 EA-18Gs as scheduled and will take up the issue of a multi-year procurement contract for FY11 to FY14. It seems about 60 to 100 more E/Fs would be involved - all subject to getting an attractive, fixed price from Boeing for the lot of them. FWIW.
 
hornsfan said:
Some more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/business/09boeing.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

Sounds like Boeing is lobbying hard to extend the C-17 and Super Hornet production lines as there other businesses are getting hit hard.
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This is JMHO, but I think the F-14D made a great AA fighter even greater by adding ~ 10,000lbs of thrust & a very good Air-to-Mud weapons package. But the Navy never exploited the greatness of the F-14D - I think we never had more than ~ 90 of them.
The F-18A-Ds are, IMHO, very limited in range & payload. They weren't the best pluggers in the fleet for nothin'. The F-18E/F adds lotsa new power & about 30% more range - which takes the a/c from marginal to O/S in most mission areas. With the AESA radars & even mo' power coming, these planes will only get better. We can operate the Super Hornets till everything is UAVs as far as I'm concerned.
 
The Marine Corps should really give this F-35 solo thing a second look. I am not convinced the Marine Corps will get all the JSF's it wants.
 
They can't really afford them, and (gulp) they'll likely crash about half in training accidents. They really ought to halve their F-35 planned buy and get all the Super Hornets congress will pay for - and sh%t can all their old A thru D models.
 
You know, Marine Corps has to justify its existence and this F-35 concept is just way to emphasize its core competency. So by all means.....it only took the Osprey 20 years or so.
Unfortunately, the USMC will not get a pass if the JSF starts going down the road the Harriers went.
 
Flash said:
That one is going to be hard sell, more have been bought than the USAF asked for and Secretary Gates has taken a dim view to shenanigans like that, though Congress usually has the last word.
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IMHO, the AF can take all the C-17s the congress will buy and use them well to replace the oldest C-5As in their inventory. The C-5 program, to many observers, has been one of the most inefficient/ineffective in defense spending history. I realize only the C-5 can haul some of the Army's biggest gear, but it's still a crappy airplane.
 
if I were in charge...

- buy enough F/A-18F's to fill either MAG 11 or 31 (rock paper scissors to see who gets it)... maintenance is at one base, the F/A-18F can goto the boat to continue "tac-air integration", and the Corps still "owns" FAC-A.

- as legacy Hornets are replaced with "F's", consolidate the low time F/A-18A+/C/D's to the legacy Hornet MAG ... maintenance is at one base, the lower time jets should be a bit easier to maintain thus pilots are flying & the maintainers aren't working their ass off.

- send the rest of the legacy Hornets (the high time & trapped out F/A-18 A+/C/D's) to the boneyard ... you can never have enough spare parts these days.

- as the F-35B comes online, replace the Harriers & the legacy Hornet MAG with them first, and the SH MAG gets their F-35B's last (or F-35C's to keep the tac-air integration option if the Navy doesn't want to play with the F-35B)

SF

Fog said:
They can't really afford them, and (gulp) they'll likely crash about half in training accidents. They really ought to halve their F-35 planned buy and get all the Super Hornets congress will pay for - and sh%t can all their old A thru D models.
Click to expand...
 
jarhead said:
if I were in charge...

- buy enough F/A-18F's to fill either MAG 11 or 31 (rock paper scissors to see who gets it)... maintenance is at one base, the F/A-18F can goto the boat to continue "tac-air integration", and the Corps still "owns" FAC-A.

- as legacy Hornets are replaced with "F's", consolidate the low time F/A-18A+/C/D's to the legacy Hornet MAG ... maintenance is at one base, the lower time jets should be a bit easier to maintain thus pilots are flying & the maintainers aren't working their ass off.

- send the rest of the legacy Hornets (the high time & trapped out F/A-18 A+/C/D's) to the boneyard ... you can never have enough spare parts these days.

- as the F-35B comes online, replace the Harriers & the legacy Hornet MAG with them first, and the SH MAG gets their F-35B's last (or F-35C's to keep the tac-air integration option if the Navy doesn't want to play with the F-35B)

SF
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I like it.
 
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