MICHAEL OLERAY wrote:
Actually, the current plan calls for ten squadrons of 5~6 aircraft
each plus
the FRS which will more than likely only give the ALQ portion of the
syllabus. For the common initial CAT I NATOPs check, the student
will
probably go through Lemoore while enroute to NUW. Also, I don't
think that
they will be adding a "F" to the designation. At least not while,
born and
bred Prowler guys are still flying them. The ninety EA-18Gs would be
able
to support a smaller FRS and ten CVW squadrons. As for the
expeditionary,
the Air Force is on its own.

Sincerely,
Moe


That sounds more reasonable. I know such plans may change a few times
before being introduced - for example, when the avtechtra.navy.mil was
still open to the public I saw two or three different plans of
Tomcat&Hornet-to-SuperHornet transition there, including VFA-86,
VFA-97, and VFA-174, no longer considered as future F/A-18E/F
squadrons.

Of course, this 90 a/c inculde not only aircraft for the fleet
squadrons and the FRS, but also some attrition reserves.

As for the lack of "F" in the designation, I cannot agree more - EA-18G
should be busy enough in the EW/SEAD/strike role. And if there is not
much other job available, it can easily turn into a tanker;-) [like
ES-3As, also high-value assets, sometimes did]

Sincerely,
Jacek