Carrier strike fighter F/A-18 procurement: ~$7.25B — the Navy's award to Boeing for the carrier's mainstay aircraft (USAspending)

1What the F/A designation means

The designation "F/A" means both Fighter and Attack. The F/A-18 is a multi-role aircraft that handles air combat (air superiority) as well as strikes on land and ships; the flexibility of one airframe taking on multiple roles is a major value for a Navy that wants to limit aircraft types on a carrier's limited deck.

Together with the CVN-78 carrier and E-2D early-warning aircraft covered separately on this site, it becomes clear that this aircraft is the "fist that fights from the carrier."

2Its place in the carrier strike group

This contract covers procurement of that F/A-18. A carrier strike group functions only when the vessel (the carrier), the eyes (E-2D), and the fist (F/A-18) come together — the contracts are separate, but reading across the spending data reveals the whole picture. A cumulative ~$7.25B from 2008 to 2022 shows continuous procurement of the mainstay carrier aircraft.

3What the public record covers

The description (USAspending) goes as far as "F/A-18 aircraft" and does not detail the specific variant (E, F, etc.) or airframe-count breakdown (this site does not fill in what the description omits). What can be read is that the Navy has poured vast sums over many years into the multi-role carrier aircraft at the core of a carrier's combat power.

4A carrier strike group works when three things are present

The equipment making up a carrier strike group appears in these records as separate contracts. In practice it works only when the vessel, the eyes and the fist are all there.

The F/A designation means both Fighter and Attack. A multirole aircraft handling air combat and strikes against land and ships alike, its flexibility in carrying several roles in one airframe is of great value to a navy wanting to limit the types on a crowded deck. The contracts are separate; read across the spending data, the whole comes into view.