Until the F-35C fifth-generation fighter jets arrive in significant enough numbers, the F/A-18 Super Hornet will remain the mainstay of the US Navy’s combat fleet. One of the most important factors in the ability of any fighter jet to perform missions is its combat range (which is why the USAF maintains such a vast fleet of tankers). Now the Navy is looking for more ways to expend the range of its Super Hornets. The Navy has placed what is expected to be its final order for F/A-18s and will gradually start transitioning to the F-35C but the Super Hornets will serve well into the 2030s.