The US Navy currently operates around 550 Super Hornets, and Boeing is building the final batch of the carrier-based multirole fighters at its facility in St. Louis, Missouri.
The US Navy has acknowledged the loss of a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet in a crash off the Virginia coast on Wednesday morning. The pilot was rescued and taken to a local hospital for observation. Wednesday’s crash marked the fourth Super Hornet lost in a mishap since December, while two EA-18G Growlers, the electronic warfare (EW) variant of the F/A-18, have also crashed during the past year.
The Navy has announced an investigation into the incident.
According to a release from the US Navy to USNI News, “At approximately 9:53 a.m. EDT, a pilot assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, ejected from an F/A-18E Super Hornet while operating off the coast of Virginia during a routine training flight. Multiple search and rescue assets were deployed and quickly arrived on scene. The pilot was rescued at approximately 11:21 a.m. EDT and was transported to a local hospital for further medical evaluation. The F/A-18E remains in the water where it crashed.”
The F/A-18 Super Hornet’s Specifications
- Year Introduced: 1999
- Number Built: ~550
- Length: 60.1 ft (18.31 m)
- Height: 16 feet (4.88 m)
- Wingspan: 44.9 ft (13.62 m)
- Weight:
- Empty – 32,100 lb (14,552 kg)
- Maximum takeoff weight – 66,000 lb (29,937 kg)
- Engines: Two F414-GE-400 turbofan engines
- Top Speed: Mach 1.8+ (1,330 mph)
- Range: 1,678 miles (2,700 km)
- Service Ceiling: 50,000 feet+ (~15,000 m)
- Loadout: A variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, as well as fuel tanks and targeting pods. Air-to-air loadouts include AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs.
- Aircrew: 1-2, depending on variant
The Navy Keeps Accidentally Losing F/A-18 Hornets
VFA-83, the “Rampagers,” was most recently deployed to the Middle East aboard the United States Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). The squadron returned to Naval Station Oceania, Virginia Beach, in July 2024.
This marks the fourth F/A-18 Super Hornet in service with the US Navy to be lost, following three separate incidents aboard the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). The first was shot down in a friendly fire incident in December. Shortly before Christmas 2024, the twin-engine, two-seat Super Hornet was mistakenly identified as a hostile missile and fired upon by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64), one of the warships in CVN-75’s carrier strike group (CSG). Fortunately, the pilots were able to eject safely and were quickly rescued.
In April and May, two other Super Hornets were lost while the carrier was operating in the Red Sea. The first fell off the supercarrier while being towed to the hangar, and reportedly occurred as USS Harry S. Truman endeavored to avoid a Houthi attack. The second F/A-18 crashed into the Red Sea just weeks later, after a malfunction of its arrestment system, which is needed to slow the fighter as it lands on the flight deck. The pilot also ejected and was rescued.
However, two US Navy aviators were killed in October 2024 when their EA-18G Growler crashed near Washington state’s Mount Rainier while taking off during a routine training flight. Two other aviators suffered injuries when their EA-18 went down in San Diego Harbor in February.
It is unclear what caused Wednesday’s incident. As previously noted, the incident is still under investigation, and efforts will be made to recover the aircraft. According to Naval Air Systems Command, the F/A-18E Super Hornet costs around $67 million.
The US Navy currently operates around 550 Super Hornets, and Boeing is currently building the final batch of the carrier-based multirole fighters at its facility in St. Louis, Missouri. While production is slated to end in 2027, the newest models of the F/A-18 will remain in service well into the 2040s. Current plans call for the sixth-generation F/A-XX to replace both the Super Hornet and Growler eventually. However, a contract has yet to be awarded for its production.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
