The United States Marine Corps Begins The Phased Retirement Of Its F/A-18 Hornets.

Washington DC; May 2026: The United States Marine Corps, which plans to retire its F/A-18 Hornets by 2030, has announced that the maintenance structures associated with this attack aircraft will begin to be phased out. The gradual retirement of its F/A-18 Hornets has been under consideration since it received its first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets in January 2012, initially replacing them with the F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft, which have also replaced the Boeing AV-8B Plus Harrier II, and later the F-35C .

The Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron ( VMFAT) 101 “Sharpshooters”, the unit dedicated exclusively to training and converting new Hornet pilots, was deactivated on September 29th, 2023. However, the training mission was transferred to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323 “Death Rattlers”. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is expected to complete its transition from the F/A-18C/D Hornet to the fifth-generation F-35B/C by 2030.

The USMC Aviation Plan for 2026 envisions expanding its inventory of these modern stealth aircraft to 420 units. The Marines currently operate both versions of the F-35, primarily the F-35B, which, given its STOVL capability, can operate from amphibious assault ships and minimally prepared forward operating bases, providing Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) with greater flexibility in combat operations. The F-35C is designed for carrier-based operations via catapult and arresting cables, and incorporates larger wings and a reinforced landing gear to operate from the flight decks of capital ships.

The F-35 offers significant advances over the aging Hornet fleet; Thus, in addition to its stealth capability, it features advanced sensor fusion, improved situational awareness (SA), and greater network warfare capabilities.

From now until 2030, the retirement schedule for the F/A-18C/D in USMC squadrons will be as follows:

• At Marine Corps Air Station ( MCAS) Beaufort (South Carolina), those of VMFA-312 “Checkerboards” will be retired before August 1, 2028;

• At MCAS Miramar (California), those of VMFA-232 “Red Devils” and the aforementioned VMFA-323 “Death Rattlers” will be retired before August 1, 2029; 

• At the US Navy facilities in Fort Worth (Texas), before August 1, 2030, VMFA-112 “Cowboys” will cease operating them, and with it, the Marine Corps.

Many Army Hornets have remained in service well beyond their originally planned operational life, requiring extensive maintenance and structural reinforcement programs to maintain their combat capability. Rising maintenance costs and a shortage of spare parts also contributed to the decision to retire the legendary platform.                                                                  

Team Maverick.