In article , John Carrier
wrote:

From what I understand the F/A-18E/F has slightly less range than the
Tomcat, but (with ATFLIR and the HMCS) is a much more capable Strike
Fighter... not to mention its much better maintenance numbers and radar.

Kinda sad, 30 years design progress and we get an airframe that can't exceed
... or even match ... the Turkey's performance (except at high alfa ... big
whoop!). Wouldn't have been a big deal to retrofit advanced WCS/Radar
capability. Of course the maintainability could not have been solved
without a clean sheet of paper redesign (pretty much what the E/F is
compared to the original Bug anyway).

R / John

The D is an incredible airplane the way it is but the "good stuff" like
upgrades to radar and such aren't what's killing it as much as a lack
of spares of the little stuff like valves, relays and widgets. This
lack of spares results in a high cannibalization rate that then results
in an obscene maint man-hour per flight hour ratio. I also understand
that there's some core fatigue issues that can't be overcome by simply
rewinging like the Prowler and Intruder went through (or are going
through with the Prowler) It all comes down to money. Not the best
capability but the best capability for the dollar and a "good enough"
capability to bridge to something better. Not what all of us wearing
gold wings want but fiscal reality.
My DS cruise was with CAG-8. A tremendous airwing of 24 Tomcats, 24
Hornets, 16 A-6's (no KA's) a bunch of S-3's, 5 Prowlers, 5 E-2's and
H-3¹s but I have to admit that for what they're doing now an E/F
airwing seems more effective. Times change. I mourned the loss of the
Intruder (and death of the A-6F) as much as anyone but that facet war
fighting has changed. Fortunately the continued need for brave crews
and dedicated maintenance troops keeps us connected with our past.

Pugs