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And I thought the F/A-18 was sorta outdated by now... Are they flying it just for practice/training missions because it's cheaper, or did they upgrade it substa

And I thought the F/A-18 was sorta outdated by now... Are they flying it just for practice/training missions because it's cheaper, or did they upgrade it substantially?

GiorgioG 2y ago
It's still in production (until 2025.)
peutetre 2y ago
The F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 have all been continuously upgraded over time. Examples: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/12/air-force-to-get-f-15e-jet-with-fresh-electronic-warfare-tech-in-summer/ https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/12/air-force-to-get-... https://theaviationist.com/2024/01/24/usaf-to-fly-f-16s-into-the-2040s/ https://theaviationist.com/2024/01/24/usaf-to-fly-f-16s-into... https://www.twz.com/litening-targeting-pod-tested-on-f-a-18-super-hornet-for-first-time https://www.twz.com/litening-targeting-pod-tested-on-f-a-18-...
Rastonbury 2y ago
Probably both, the even older F-15s are still the main workhorse fighter for US and others albeit with many upgrades
ggambetta 2y ago
It's not the plane, Mav. It's the pilot.
swiftcoder 2y ago
Part of the picture here is how few of the newer generation fighters are actually in service. The F22 fleet is capped at 200, and I gather significantly less than that in a state of combat readiness. There are technically around 600 F35s in service, but they are plagued by reliability issues, to the point that they are only averaging 50% availability for missions.
- ethbr1 2y ago
  All of the comments here could have been answered by a check of (mostly current) Wikipedia. USN aircraft, by count: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_United_States_naval_aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_United_States_n... USN wings, by squadron equipment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_aircraft_wings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_air... In short: there's little reason to majority-equip carrier air wings with F-35Cs. They're an exquisite asset, with the maintenance and availability penalties that come along with that. Not all missions require exquisite assets. When you're thousands of miles from the nearest supply depot, in the middle of the ocean, it makes sense to be pragmatic and use a design that's been in production and refined for almost 30 years. Sometimes, good aerodynamic performance, good engines, and weapons compatibility is enough. Therefore a lot of the time, the F/A-18E/F is enough.

And I thought the F/A-18 was sorta outdated by now... Are they flying it just for practice/training missions because it's cheaper, or did they upgrade it substantially?

GiorgioG 2y ago

It's still in production (until 2025.)

peutetre 2y ago

The F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 have all been continuously upgraded over time. Examples: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/12/air-force-to-get-f-15e-jet-with-fresh-electronic-warfare-tech-in-summer/ https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/12/air-force-to-get-... https://theaviationist.com/2024/01/24/usaf-to-fly-f-16s-into-the-2040s/ https://theaviationist.com/2024/01/24/usaf-to-fly-f-16s-into... https://www.twz.com/litening-targeting-pod-tested-on-f-a-18-super-hornet-for-first-time https://www.twz.com/litening-targeting-pod-tested-on-f-a-18-...

Rastonbury 2y ago

Probably both, the even older F-15s are still the main workhorse fighter for US and others albeit with many upgrades

ggambetta 2y ago

It's not the plane, Mav. It's the pilot.

swiftcoder 2y ago

Part of the picture here is how few of the newer generation fighters are actually in service. The F22 fleet is capped at 200, and I gather significantly less than that in a state of combat readiness. There are technically around 600 F35s in service, but they are plagued by reliability issues, to the point that they are only averaging 50% availability for missions.

ethbr1 2y ago
All of the comments here could have been answered by a check of (mostly current) Wikipedia. USN aircraft, by count: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_United_States_naval_aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_United_States_n... USN wings, by squadron equipment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_aircraft_wings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_air... In short: there's little reason to majority-equip carrier air wings with F-35Cs. They're an exquisite asset, with the maintenance and availability penalties that come along with that. Not all missions require exquisite assets. When you're thousands of miles from the nearest supply depot, in the middle of the ocean, it makes sense to be pragmatic and use a design that's been in production and refined for almost 30 years. Sometimes, good aerodynamic performance, good engines, and weapons compatibility is enough. Therefore a lot of the time, the F/A-18E/F is enough.