Source: DVIDS

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sep. 7, 2024) An F/A-18E Super Hornet attached to the “Jolly Rogers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103 sit ready on the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), September 8, 2024. USS Gerald R. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean to further develop core unit capabilities during its basic phase of the optimized fleet response plan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky)

Boeing is preparing for the end of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler production under a US Navy contract that establishes how manufacturing equipment and tooling will be handled after the final aircraft leave the assembly line.

The US Navy awarded Boeing a US$16.7 million contract on September 29 to support the systematic shutdown of the production lines. The work is scheduled to continue through November 2030, several years after manufacturing of new aircraft ends.

The 2030 date does not represent an extension of aircraft production. Instead, the contract covers the inventory and evaluation of government-owned equipment, including decisions on which specialized tools must be retained to support the existing fleet.

Excerpt:

The Marine Corps recently conducted its first-ever “ripple” release of eight Small Diameter Bomb IIs from an F-35B, a key early step in proving out the capability for all F-35 variants.

A “ripple release” refers to munitions all being released in one pass instead of multiple go-arounds. Marine aviators from the Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., conducted the test Sept. 15, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Jon Norman, Raytheon’s vice president for air and space systems, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

SDB II, also called “StormBreaker,” is a 250-pound, low-yield, precision-guided munition that can hit moving targets in all weather conditions at ranges of at least 46 miles. It is a joint effort between the Air Force and Department of the Navy and is built by RTX’s Raytheon.

While software and other issues have delayed fielding StormBreaker on the F-35, the “ripple” capability could be critical to the Lockheed Martin-made stealthy fighter down the line, Norman argued.

“From a pilot perspective, it’s nice because you’re not sitting there exposing yourself when you have eight targets to address,” he said.

It also eliminates the need to do hands-on weaponeering for each bomb.

“You address the entire target set, so it’s less workload in the cockpit, and you’re able to achieve an effect that I think the pilots are really going to appreciate,” Norman said.

The networked missiles can also be confined to a defined kill box to ensure they strike only a specific area on the battlefield.

“We’re able to set boundaries,” Norman said. “So, you give it a kill box, and it’ll exclude everything outside of that and only hit within that kill box.”

The Su-33,30sm,30sm2 had them, but they decided against it for the Su-35.

Why did they drop them?

First flew in 1990, the Rockwell-MBB X-31 was developed to investigate whether thrust vectoring and advanced flight-control systems could make future fighter aircraft dramatically more maneuverable in air-to-air combat, particularly at very high angles of attack where conventional fighters lose control.

Seems to have exploded early, causing fragments to result in, at least, a fuel leak.

No footage confirming a full shootdown such as wreckage or similar has been released and the Saudis have yet to comment on the incident. Therefore the fate of the aircraft is currently unknown.

Went over to the Rose City Airfest in Tyler, TX to watch FEMA and the Viper Demo team along with some other great acts. The Skyhawk looks insanely fun to fly! Full res recap with more pics here: https://www.scotttuckerphoto.com/blog/rose-city-airfest-2026

More or less jet looks uncanny in a way, what’s its role in combat warfare and is it any good ? Never see many people talk about it.

During Nile Eagles exercise 2021

Image source and original caption: F-35Cs approach for first landing aboard PCU John F. Kennedy (CVN 79)

Two F-35 test pilots from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23), Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), fly F-35C Lightning II fighter aircraft to the PCU John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) in the Western Atlantic Oct. 13, 2026. This is the first time an F-35C has landed on a Ford-class aircraft carrier. A Patuxent River F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) team detached to the ship is conducting Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT) with the specially instrumented carrier variant of the stealth jet. ACT assesses the operational capabilities of the ship's aircraft launch and recovery equipment with U.S. Navy aircraft.

Photos by Dane Wiedmann

Related story from Janes: Aircraft carrier Kennedy marks first F-35C recovery

And for anyone (like me) wondering what a PCU is:

Pre-commissioning unit (PRECOMUNIT or PCU) is a designation used by the United States Navy to describe vessels under construction prior to their official commissioning.

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I’d like to know global opinions on the combat effectiveness of Chinese fighter aircraft.