1980s-Era US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet End in 2025

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) 

The Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet has taken off from carriers, been upgraded for decades and surged into the future for years beyond expectation with new weapons, sensors, electronics and computing … now the aircraft will end production in 2025.

Boeing plans to “shut down” production of the F/A-18 in 2025, although the aircraft will likely continue to fly for a few years after that, before vanishing into the sunset of history following an impressive career. 

Next-generation infrared target tracking, conformal fuel tanks, fully redesigned digital cockpit and new “glide slope” carrier-landing software are just a few of the many life-extending enhancements woven into the US Navy’s classic F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet.

The Navy’s F/A-18 has already more than outlived its anticipated service through extension programs, upgrades and massive amounts of modernization to ensure the 1980s jet remains relevant, lethal and cutting edge in a modern threat environment. The aircraft has, in many respects, accomplished this mission, despite the fact that it will soon retire, perhaps in large measure due to the arrival of the F-35C and emerging 6th-generation F/A-XX. 

While the original McDonnell Douglas-Northrop airframe dates all the way back to the mid 1970s, today’s F/lA-18 is virtually an entirely new aircraft due to the scope of its technological enhancements. In recent years, the aircraft was the focus of an extensive Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) designed to upgrade and reinforce the airframes, on-board electronics and engine performance.