Report: Marine Corps Grounds Majority Of Its Airplanes | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Tue, Apr 19, 2016

Report: Marine Corps Grounds Majority Of Its Airplanes

Budget Cuts Leave 70 Percent Of Hornets In Unairworthy Condition

Deep cuts in the military budget have made it nearly impossible for the U.S. Marine Corps to keep a majority of its airplanes flying, according to statistics released by the Corps.

Fox News reports that, according to those statistics, only about 30 percent of the Marines' F/A-18 Hornets are ready to fly of the 276 in the Corps' inventory. And things are no better on the rotary-wing side of the house, where only 42 of 147 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters are airworthy.

The sharp reduction of over $130 billion in military spending from 2010 to 2015 happened just as many of these aircraft were coming back from 15 years of service overseas. There has also been high attrition among the ranks of trained mechanics, who have left for better-paying jobs in the private sector.

Now, the Corps is struggling to acquire parts needed for the aging airplanes, often cannibalizing parts from several to make one airworthy. It can take as long as 18 months to acquire new parts for an older-model F-18, according to the report.

The cuts are due both to the priorities of the Obama administration as well as sequestration put in place by the U.S. Congress.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.marines.mil

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC