Marine Aviation is still in the hurt locker...

via National Interest.

The United States Navy has awarded Boeing a new contract to help resolve serious readiness problems with its F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fleets.

The Department of the Navy’s (DON) strike fighter squadrons are in a dire situation where—at least at last report during Congressional testimony on Feb.7, 2017—more than 62 percent of the service’s fighters are for all intents and purposes grounded. Of that total, the Marine Corps’ strike fighter fleet—which is composed mostly of older original model F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornets—is in even worse shape with as many as 74 percent of its jets not ready for war.

The DON is taking steps to resolve the problem, which is the cumulative result of years of overuse and funding disruptions that stem from the 2011 Budget Control Act. Additionally, in the case of the Marine Corps, the service made some very poor decisions on aircraft procurement—betting its future on the on-time arrival of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.

The solution to the problem is to increase the purchase of spare parts and push aircraft through depot maintenance faster. This new $238 million contract extension with Boeing to upgrade additional F/A-18s for the Navy and Marine Corps is part of that overall effort. The company’s Cecil Field facility will perform high flight-hour inspections, periodic maintenance inspections, in-service repair and modifications, upgrades and other engineering work for the aircraft.

“Our mission is to support the Navy’s effort to improve readiness,” Travis McBurnett, Boeing’s F/A-18 Sustainment program director, said in a statement. “Since 1999, the Boeing Cecil Field team has returned 880 modified or repaired F/A-18s to the Navy and Marines. We look forward to delivering many more in the coming years.”

However, even in the best-case scenario, it will take the DON—both the Navy and Marine Corps—years to recover from this debacle. That’s assuming stable funding without periodic disruptions as a result various continuing resolutions that are increasingly common as Congress routinely fails to pass budgets year after year. It’s not like this is a new problem—I’ve reported on this issue since before 2014 for The Daily Beast. If anything, matters have gotten worse year over year.

Let's highlight that sentence one more time for effect...

 Additionally, in the case of the Marine Corps, the service made some very poor decisions on aircraft procurement—betting its future on the on-time arrival of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.

This era of Marine Corps aviation will not be one that is looked back on fondly

General Davis sold his soul for the F-35 and I'd like to ask him if it was worth it.  Marine Corps historians will not be kind to his leadership during this period.  This maintenance mess and the poor state of Marine Corps aviation should be a chargeable offense.  The idea that national security was threatened because someone at HQMC decided that the operational risk of having 74% of our strike aircraft in an unserviceable state is almost treasonous!

Bad decisions?  You bet your ass!