End may be on the horizon for F/A-18 Super Hornet

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/end-may-be-horizon-fa18-super-hornet



Workers assemble part of an F/A-18 Super Hornet at a Northrop Grumman factory in El Segundo, Calif.

End may be on the horizon for F/A-18 Super Hornet
By W.J. Hennigan
McClatchy/Tribune
© March 13, 2014

Workers at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s 1-million-square-foot facility in El Segundo, Calif., have been cranking out fuselage sections for the Navy's F/A-18 fighter jet for decades.

But now, the end may be near.

Since entering service in 1983, the lithe twin-engine fighter-bomber has been a symbol of U.S. military might, catapulting from aircraft carrier decks and obliterating targets in the sky and on the ground.

Today there are increasing fears that the F/A-18 Super Hornet assembly line may be shut down because of dwindling orders as the Navy prepares for a new generation of warplane - the troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.



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Why buy a $100,000,000 aircraft when you can buy a less capable one (Junk Strike Fighter) for $247,000,000?