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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Marines Already Push F-18s Past 10,000 Hours; When Will They Begin to Fail?

F-18 Super HornetThe Marine Corps is pushing some of its fighter aircraft to the breaking point, as the service waits for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Marine Corps fighter squadrons in Afghanistan are racking up thousands of flight hours on their legacy F/A-18 Hornets, going well past the 9,000-hour cap set by Naval Air Command for these older F/A-18s.

Some squadrons in Afghanistan are flying combat missions with Hornets that have 10,000 hours or more, Capt. Steward Whittel, a F/A-18 pilot with Marine Corps Fighter Squadron 224, told me yesterday. The legacy F/A-18 Hornet was designed to fly about 6,000 hours before retirement. Marine Corps pilots do not fly the newer F/A-18 Super Hornet.

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