Sometimes, the best proof is in the use. On August 3, the F/A-18 airframe– which includes Hornet and Super Hornet generations – logged six million accumulated flight hours.

The Navy will recognize every F/A-18 aviator who flew at 1 p.m. their local time on a day officials calculated the aircraft would surpass the six-million mark. Aviators from across the globe earned a commemorative patch and a certificate of recognition which lauds their contribution toward punching through an historical milestone.

“When I got back, I found out that I’d been a part of the sixth-millionth flight hour . . . So that made a great flight even better,” said Lt. Jason Higgins, flying an F/A-18E on a training strike mission from the USS Kitty Hawk while his squadron, VFA-102, is on a Western Pacific deployment.

A week after the milestone, nearly 90 pilots and weapons systems officers confirmed they were airborne at the designated time.

“It’s an honor to fly for the U.S. Navy, and a privilege to fly an aircraft so capable, lethal and dependable as the F/A-18 Hornet,” said Lt. Jeremy Shamblee of VFA-195 who launched from the Kitty Hawk in a C-series aircraft.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots accumulated most of the flight hours, with help from aviators representing seven foreign nations that fly the Hornet. These include the air forces of Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Switzerland, and Malaysia.

U.S. planes clocked about 4,700,000 of the six million flight hours.

“It puts into perspective the service of those who came before me and their commitment to the Navy and the nation,” said Lt. Will Mathis of VFA-27, also on the Kitty Hawk.

The F/A-18 is a supersonic, single or tandem seat, twin-engine fighter and attack aircraft. It can operate from land bases or aircraft carriers and can fill a variety of roles: fighter escort, air superiority, reconnaissance, forward air control, suppression of enemy air defenses, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. A developing variant, known as the EA-18G, will also convert the Super Hornet into an electronic attack aircraft.

The F/A-18 Hornet is the first tactical aircraft designed from inception to carry out both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The combat-proven aircraft's versatility is a reason for its popularity among pilots.

“I have flown this aircraft from Kosovo to Afghanistan to Iraq to Japan. It has been an awesome plane and I look forward to many more hours flying it,” said Maj. Jeff Ertwine of VMFA-121, “The Green Knights,” who flew the milestone during a local training hop from Iwakuni, Japan.

Cmdr. William Reuter, a test pilot with VX-23 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. said unequivocally, “The F/A-18 is the most versatile strike-fighter ever built.”

The aircraft’s 21-year history as part of the Navy’s inventory - and its continued development into Naval aviation’s fighter aircraft of the future - demonstrates the program’s legacy, which is proving to outlive some pilots’ careers.

“It was a beautiful day to be out flying in such a great aircraft. I have been lucky to fly in the Hornet for many years and I look forward to finishing my career in this great aircraft,” said Maj. Mark Palmer, a Hornet weapons systems officer in Iwakuni.

The Hornet and Super Hornet are a critical part of on-going war efforts, where the aircraft offered air-strike lethality as the airframe crossed the six-million-hour threshold.

“The flight was also coincident with my last mission in Iraq,” said Maj. Peter Titcomb, of VMFA-142 of Naval Air Station Atlanta, currently deployed to Iraq.

The aircraft’s longevity starts at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, where an organization called PMA 265 is responsible for the development of the Hornet and Super Hornet programs.

“This success is part of our team’s contribution to the Navy-wide goal of delivering the right force, with the right readiness, and at the right cost,” said Rear Adm. David Venlet, Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs. Venlet oversees the efforts of PMA 265. “You’ll see much more of this as the Naval Aviation Enterprise continues to streamline development and procurement of the systems we send forward to our fleet aviators.”

The Naval Aviation Enterprise is a partnership among Naval leadership to optimize processes that maintain current readiness while investing in future readiness. The enterprise concept focuses Naval aviation on the single fleet-driven metric of producing aircraft ready for tasking at reduced cost.