The Navy announced on Tuesday that its F-18 fighter plane fleet is 80% mission capable, meeting a goal mandated by former Secretary of Defense James Mattis last year.
The achievement is the result of reforms instituted across Navy fighter squadrons and maintenance depots. Navy fighter fleet readiness was hovering around an abysmal 50% mission capability last year when Mattis directed the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps to achieve 80% readiness across all fighter fleets. Today, the Navy has 343 F-18 Super Hornets ready for battle, a significant increase from the 250 to 260 it has maintained for the last decade.
“This has been a year of results for naval aviation. I am incredibly proud of our sailors, civilian teammates and industry partners,” Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, the commander of Naval Air Forces, said in a statement.
Miller noted that the Navy’s efforts have produced readiness numbers that “haven’t been seen in over a decade.” Having mission-capable fighters has also led to an increase in flight hours for pilots — a major plus for the military as it continues to bleed pilots.
“This is the first year in some time that we have executed our allocation of flight hours completely,” Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said. “That stands as a sign of health that we have a lot of ‘up’ aircraft and that the parts are moving. We’re getting healthy and we’re on the right track.”
The military has offered fat bonuses in an effort to recruit and retain its pilots, but attractive options in the commercial sector and a lack of time in the cockpit has led many to leave the service. A lack of flight time has also raised concerns that pilots who do remain in the military are losing the critical, hands-on experience needed to hone their skills.
The Air Force’s fighter fleet as a whole continues to suffer from extremely low readiness numbers. F-35As, part of the most expensive weapons program in history, were less than 50% ready to take on missions in 2018 — down 5 points from the year before. The relatively new F-22As are slightly more than 50% mission capable, representing a 2.73% increase from 2017.
With Mattis’ goal met, the Navy is now turning its attention toward maintaining a mission-capable fighter fleet.
“We don’t get to choose when we are called to fight. Sustainment is the key,” Miller said. “Continuously improving the reforms implemented by our military, civilian and industry teams will be critical in maintaining our advantage in this age of great power competition.”
