Posted on 11/03/2014 10:39:47 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
The U.S. Marine Corps will phase out the Boeing AV-8B Harrier II jump jet by 2025 — about five years earlier than planned — and will instead extend the life of its fleet of aging Boeing F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, according to the service’s recently released 2015 aviation plan.
In previous years, the service had said it would replace its increasingly older fleet of original model Boeing F/A-18A – D Hornet strike fighters before retiring the Harriers before replacing both fighters with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
Now, the Harrier will be retired in 2025 and the Hornets will hang on until 2029 for the active duty Marines.
“The TACAIR 2030 Roadmap is a departure from the previous AVPLAN’s TACAIR transition order,” reads the Marine Corps’ 2015 aviation plan. “The F-35 transition continues per the program of record, while the AV-8B and F/A-18 order of transition has changed.”
The Marine short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B is planned to operational in the summer of 2015 will eventually replace the Harrier.
The Hornets will finally leave the Marine inventory in 2030 when the reserve component transitions to the F-35B.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.usni.org ...
Don’t worry, they will all me delayed and over budget before those dates ever come.
I have no idea what this all means but with our present pRESIDENT it can’t be good.
F-35 will probably still be in developmental test in 2025...
LOL. So will the V-22 Osprey.
At least one still shows up at air shows.
http://tysonneil.smugmug.com/Airplanes/Old-Aircraft/i-H6kn7C2/A
They need to take over the A-10 fleet.
Harrier Boom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJFnhfpW34
They have to retire them while they still have Harriers to retire.
At accelerating loss rates they are seeing with the aging Harriers, they may all have crashed by 2025
I have a cold one that says the Lightning II doesn't make its IOC with the Marines during 2015.
Indeed. Perhaps best be given to the Israeli Air Force.
I see Ospreys everyday here...........................both kinds...................
Right on, beef up the under carriage for carrier ops.
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