I saw a picture on the AMARC website of a VF-103 F-14B. The last pilot scribbled on the nose ‘Tomcats by choice, Hornets by mandate.’ Thats a kick in the face for Super Hornet and the USN. The Super Hornets wearing Tomcat squad markings just don’t go, especially Vf-103. I mean the Hornet is ugly itself but it just doesnt have that it looks right adage.

I notice that the Stupit Hornet has picked up the nickname of Rhino. Well I’m from South Africa and here Rhino’s are endangered, not the most nimble of animals and regarded as not being very smart. There couldn’t be a more appropriate nickname! On more serious issues, it is quite clear that USN Tomcat squadron will be have almost finished downgrading to Super Hornets. I don’t agree with but it will happen. Why the USN decided to get rid of all it’s capable aricraft and replace it with the SH is beyond me. Alot of it is politics as they say and alot has to do with the Tailhook scandel when alot of Tomcat supporters were purged. Anyway all this allowed an aircraft initially designed as an upgrade to the Hornet to first replace the A-6, now the F-14, next the EA-6B, and soon the S-3 (in the tanking role). In effect the Super Duper Hornet is replacing nearly the entire airwing. WOW! What a wonderful aircraft. Why is the USAF wasting all those dollars on F/A-22s, A-10s, F-16s and the JSF when they could just buy Super Duper Hornets and replace the whole lot of them? Clearly the Super Hornet will become the low-maintenance, logistically superior, short to medium range bombtruck with air to air capability that the USN wanted, but not necessarily the aircrat it SHOULD have had. The Super Hornet will be adequate for the USN as long as they keep fighting rag tag air forces like Iraq and Afghanistan. I shudder to think what would happen if they were to come up against credible opposition. Those that think that the SH is the greatest jet ever, should consider the fact that only foreign interest is from Malaysia who are more interested in the savings as a trade-in rather than the capability. Also consider that in a recent article in Aircraft Illustrated F-15 drivers who flew DACT against SH’s of VFA-102 noted the F-15 was a far more capable fighter than the SH’s, and we all heard about how F-15’s fared in COPE India against Su-30’s. What chance would a SH have? I’m not saying that F-14s are the best. However they did have alot of growth potential that was never exploited, such as in the F-15, -16, -18. The Tomcat always met opposition to any upgrade or future development. Had this been exploited , as possibly the ASF-14 or ST-21 the USN woul have had an aircaft to be reckoned with. It should also be remembered that AMRAAM was developed with Phoenix technology an the F-14 was slated to get this missile and the AAAM, but again this was not exploited. The Iranians proved Phoenix worked, and these were the early models, anyway who has read Tom Cooper’s book on Iranian Tomcat ops can see the Tomcat is a great fighter. At least the Iranians have had the brains to keep their few Tomcats in service for as long as possible, unlike the USN. What is the point of building huge expensive carriers if you don’t have capable aircraft to go on them, or retire the capable aircraft that you have? I expect that alot of SH supporters will disagree with what I have said, they have the right to but they are also right in saying that USN Tomcat days are over. Maybe the Iranians will keep them around longer and there is always the hope the F-14s at AMARC could get exported though very unlikely. As far far as I’m concerned the Super Duper Blooper Hornet is the modern F-111B that made it and I here forth christen the F/A/K/E-18E/F Stupid Hornet, the greatest carrier-borne smoke and mirrors project in naval history.