The US Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) at the Naval Air Station North Island complex in San Diego, California, has completed the final maintenance on its last legacy F/A-18 Hornet, US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) reported on 31 October 2024.
The F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet entered operational service with the US Marine Corps (USMC) and US Navy (USN) in 1983 and 1984 respectively and was transitioned to the F/A-18C/D standard as the result of a block upgrade from 1987. US Hornets served in major conflicts including Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in 1991 and the 1998-99 Kosovo War.
Legacy Hornets have been progressively replaced in USMC and USN service by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from 1999, F-35B Lightning IIs from 2015 and F-35C Lightning IIs from 2019.
As the USN’s premier West Coast aircraft repair, maintenance and overhaul organisation, specialising in the USN and USMC aircraft and their related systems, FRCSW’s role in maintaining the legacy Hornet fleet has been considerable. Through innovations like a centre barrel replacement, FRCSW extended the operational life of the F/A-18 far beyond its original limit of 6,000 flight hours, with some Hornets surpassing 9,000 hours.
“The aircraft is old so parts were hard to source, and structural repairs were challenging, but our team’s skills and knowledge ensured these aircraft kept flying,” Ehren Terbeek, FRCSW tactical air programme manager, was quoted as saying in a NAVAIR press release. “These efforts have been crucial in keeping naval aviation mission-ready for decades.”
As FRCSW transitions to newer aircraft like the F-35 and future unmanned aerial vehicles, the experience and expertise gained from decades of maintaining legacy aircraft will continue to inform its evolving role.
“The final maintenance effort on this F/A-18 Hornet is both the end of a chapter and a tribute to FRCSW’s historical contributions and the skilled workforce that has upheld the highest standards of aircraft maintenance,” NAVAIR stated.
