Even “Top Gun” couldn’t save the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Boeing announced Thursday that it expects to end production of the fighter jet in late 2025 after a final delivery to the U.S. Navy.
Production of the plane could be stretched out to 2027 if India places an order, the company said.
The first F/A-18 debuted in 1983 and was built by McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. More than 2,000 Hornets, Super Hornets and Growlers have been delivered to the U.S. military and the governments of many allies, including Canada, Finland, Australia and Malaysia.
But the plane’s fate has been in doubt in recent years. The Navy had planned not to buy any Super Hornets after fall 2021, citing the age of the plane’s design. Only an act of Congress kept production running….