The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet has been in service with the United States Navy (USN) since 1999, and since then, the aircraft has served effectively not only as a multirole fighter but also as an active combatant in numerous conflicts. While the aircraft has certainly served admirably and is still highly capable, it is an aging legacy fighter that is increasingly being displaced by a rapidly evolving threat environment. The issue at hand is the fact that the threat landscape has changed. Missiles have greater range, fifth-generation fighters are proliferating, and America's carrier battle groups require a fighter that not...