Boeing plans to end production of ‘Top Gun’ fighters – 02/23/2023 – World

Boeing plans to end production of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, a fighter that gained prominence when it was piloted by Tom Cruise’s character in the film “Top Gun: Maverick”, released last year and which received six nominations at the 2023 Oscars.

The American company reported that the last Super Hornet should be delivered to the US Navy at the end of 2025. In all, approximately 2,000 units of the fighter have been sold since 1983 to the military forces of Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain and Switzerland , in addition to the US.

According to Boeing, the decision will allow the company to redirect resources to other manned and unmanned military aircraft programs. The Bloomberg agency reported that the company plans to transfer the approximately 1,500 employees – from mechanics to financial administrators – to other sectors.

The Brazilian government considered buying the Super Hornet in 2013, but discarded the model after it became known that Dilma Rousseff (PT) was the target of espionage carried out by the NSA (National Security Agency of the United States). The scandal made the Brazilian president cancel her state visit to the US in October of that year.

The aircraft is positioned between the so-called fourth generation, represented in the US by the Tomcat, F-15 Eagle and others, and the fifth, symbolized by the F-22 Raptor and the more recent F-35 family.

The Super Hornet incorporates elements of radar stealth, earning it the misleading nickname of “stealths”, as well as data fusion and sustained supersonic flight technology.

In “Top Gun: Maverick,” directed by Joseph Kosinski, pilot Pete Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise, is called back into the US Navy to train a team of young graduates. The plot is a continuation of one of the biggest hits of the American actor’s career and became the highest grossing of last year, with a collection of almost US$ 1.5 billion (R$ 7.7 billion).

The feature received Oscar nominations in the categories of best picture, adapted screenplay, montage, song (‘Hold My Hand’), sound and visual effects.