At the end of last January, Northrop Grumman confirmed the delivery of the final fuselages intended for the production of new F/A-18 Super Hornet carrier-based fighters for the United States Navy (US Navy). The news is far from minor, as it confirms the imminent end of a nearly thirty-year chapter for the U.S. aerospace industry in general—and for Boeing in particular—which is already focused on the new sixth-generation F-47 fighter program for the U.S. Air Force.
The update regarding the delivery of fuselage sections, along with other Super Hornet components, was confirmed to U.S. local media days ago. In particular, a Boeing spokesperson told The War Zone: “Northrop Grumman is a Boeing subcontractor, producing the aft/center fuselage section and the vertical tails of the F/A-18, as well as integrating all associated subsystems,” adding that: “NG has now completed the final aft/center fuselage section corresponding to the last newly built F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter.”
Currently, the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft have the United States Navy as their primary operator. Although figures may vary, the aircraft currently constitutes the main carrier-based combat platform aboard U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
As of April 2025, figures indicated that the U.S. Navy maintained a total of 325 single-seat F/A-18E, 250 two-seat F/A-18F, and 160 EA-18G aircraft in service within its inventory. Due to its importance—having been the backbone of U.S. carrier aviation since its introduction in 1999, when it replaced the iconic F-14 Tomcat—one of the major ongoing efforts is the upgrade of a large portion of the fleet to the Block III standard, with similar modernization efforts also being applied to the Growler.
However, these numbers have not been replicated internationally, where the only other operator of the platform is the Royal Australian Air Force, which operates a total of 24 F/A-18F and 12 EA-18G aircraft.
At the same time, although their sale had been announced, the status of deliveries of aircraft intended to equip the Kuwait Air Force remains unclear. It is also not yet clear whether these aircraft will come from U.S. Navy units, while the program has not recorded any recent updates regarding its delivery process or pilot training.
In this regard, one of Boeing’s most significant efforts in the export market—and a means to extend Super Hornet production—was the proposal of the F/A-18E/F as the new carrier-based fighter for the Indian Navy, including trials and demonstrations conducted in India. However, the service ultimately selected Dassault Aviation’s Rafale M for this role, in order to replace the MiG-29K aircraft that form part of its Carrier Air Wings.
Given this situation and the latest efforts undertaken, in March 2024 the United States Navy placed its final order for 17 aircraft, which are scheduled to begin delivery in 2027. This decision allowed production of the carrier-based fighter to remain active, which had originally been projected to end in 2025.
That said, while the end of its production is drawing ever closer, this does not mean the end of the Super Hornet and Growler themselves, which will remain in service for the coming decades, supported by Boeing and its subcontractors for the implementation of upgrades—such as the aforementioned Block III—as well as for platform sustainment.
For Boeing, the end of Super Hornet production will allow the reallocation of resources and capabilities toward other programs of major importance to the U.S. Armed Forces, including the manufacturing of the new F-15EX Eagle II fighters for the USAF and the launch of the future sixth-generation F-47 aircraft—even with a carrier-based variant projected for the Navy. The introduction of the new T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainers should also be noted.
Photographs used for illustrative purposes.
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