Even “Prime Gun” couldn’t save the F/A-18 Tremendous Hornet.
Boeing introduced Thursday that it expects to finish manufacturing of the fighter jet in late 2025 after a remaining supply to the U.S. Navy.
Manufacturing of the aircraft might be stretched out to 2027 if India locations an order, the corporate mentioned.
The primary F/A-18 debuted in 1983 and was constructed by McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. Greater than 2,000 Hornets, Tremendous Hornets and Growlers have been delivered to the U.S. navy and the governments of many allies, together with Canada, Finland, Australia and Malaysia.
However the aircraft’s destiny has been unsure in recent times. The Navy had deliberate to not purchase any Tremendous Hornets after fall 2021, citing the age of the aircraft’s design. Solely an act of Congress saved manufacturing working.
Information of the aircraft’s curtain name comes lower than a month after Boeing delivered the final of its iconic 747 jumbo jet that has been utilized in passenger and cargo service for half a century.
Boeing mentioned ending F/A-18 manufacturing will let it concentrate on future navy plane, each crewed and uncrewed, and improve manufacturing of different protection applications. The corporate mentioned it plans to construct three new amenities in St. Louis, the place the F/A-18s are assembled.
“We’re planning for our future, and constructing fighter plane is in our DNA,” mentioned Steve Nordlund, vp of Boeing’s Air Dominance division.
The corporate mentioned it should proceed to develop upgrades to the present fleet of F/A-18 Tremendous Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The latter is a carrier-based digital model of the jet.
The Tremendous Hornet featured prominently within the 2022 film “Prime Gun: Maverick,” with Tom Cruise reprising his function in a Nineteen Eighties film a couple of Navy pilot. The sequel bought optimistic critiques and was among the many highest-grossing films of final 12 months.
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