Just a third of the Navy\u2019s F\/A-18 Super Hornets were fully mission-capable and ready to \u201cfight tonight\u201d as of October, the head of Naval Air Forces told Congress on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only half of the service\u2019s 542 Super Hornets were flyable as of last month, Vice Adm. Troy Shoemaker told the House Subcommittee on Readiness at a hearing on aviation readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The relentless pace of operations since 9\/11, coupled with budget uncertainty in recent years, has forced the Navy\u2019s aircraft and warship communities to do more with less, affecting overall readiness as a result, according to a copy of Shoemaker\u2019s prepared statement to lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional funding in FY2017 helped address immediate readiness shortfalls, Shoemaker said, but more will be needed as the service grapples with everything from an ascendant Chinese military to a belligerent North Korea and an Iranian force prone to incitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNaval Aviation needs a multifaceted approach to readiness recovery that include aircraft procurement, consistent funding of readiness accounts and (military construction) and infrastructure investments,\u201d Shoemaker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Navy deployed four carrier strike groups this year to support combat operations and provide deterrence, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortcomings meant the Navy had to \u201ccannibalize aircraft, parts and people to ensure those leaving on deployment had what they needed to be safe and effective,\u201d Shoemaker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe demand for Naval Aviation forces greatly exceeds our ability to supply those forces,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are 41 fewer ships and 90,000 fewer sailors in the service since 9\/11, Shoemaker said, but the missions have only increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will always answer the bell to put combat ready forces forward,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, we have been forced to do so for years at the expense of our long-term ability to train and prepare the future force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vice Adm. Troy Shoemaker’s comments came during House testimony on Navy aviation readiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":56414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,16,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3483],"class_list":["post-25895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-naval","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JW7MBGCPG5GQXED67WKADR66GQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/11\/09\/only-one-third-of-super-hornets-ready-to-fight-tonight-as-of-october-admiral-says\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n