[Foreign Media: U.S. Military's Adversary Unit Plans to Use F/A-18 Aircraft to Simulate China's J-16 Fighter]

According to a report by The War Zone (TWZ) on May 27, 2026, the U.S. Navy is moving forward with replacing its current fleet of F-5E/F "Tiger II" adversary aircraft with the F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet," continuing efforts to modernize and rationally integrate these critical training assets. It is evident that the U.S. Navy has acknowledged that even upgraded F-5s are no longer sufficient to meet top-tier adversary training requirements, reflecting a broader trend within the Pentagon toward transitioning to higher-end platforms in this functional domain. Replacing aging F-5s with F/A-18E/F aircraft will enable the U.S. Navy to field a more threatening and realistic adversary fleet capable of simulating advanced opponents such as China.

The U.S. House Armed Services Committee released the initial draft of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act yesterday. Among numerous provisions in this defense policy bill is a requirement to submit a report on "the progress made in transferring F/A-18E/F aircraft to the Navy Reserve to replace F-5 aircraft." This report must be submitted to the relevant congressional defense committees no later than March 2027. This appears to be the first official confirmation that additional U.S. Navy adversary units will transition to the F/A-18E/F. Production of this aircraft model is now nearing completion, with the final deliveries expected next year.

Currently, the U.S. Navy operates four fighter synthetic squadrons (VFC) tasked with adversary missions. The VFC-12 "Fightin' Oma" squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia has already transitioned to the F/A-18E/F. The VFC-13 "Saints" squadron based at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada operates heavily upgraded F-16C/D aircraft (previously also using F-5s). Thus, two units remain currently operating F-5F/N aircraft: the VFC-111 "Sunsetters" squadron at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, and the VFC-204 "River Rattlers" squadron located at Naval Air Station New Orleans/Joint Reserve Base (which recently transitioned from the "Classic Hornet" to the F-5).

The U.S. Navy’s 28 single-seat F-5Ns and 2 twin-seat F-5Fs are being upgraded to ARTEMIS standard. Additionally, a batch of 22 former Swiss Air Force F-5E/F aircraft are being retrofitted into adversary aircraft (designated F-5N+/F-5F+ upon completion) and will be allocated to both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

In recent years, the U.S. Navy has been working through the "Avionics Reconfiguration and Tactical/Modernization Inventory Standardization" (ARTEMIS) program to enhance its F-5 fleet. However, despite these upgrades, the F-5—a legacy Cold War-era design—has increasingly struggled to meet the Navy’s growing demand for more advanced adversary capabilities. As a non-stealth platform, the F-5 can simulate various threats, including certain characteristics of fourth-generation fighters, but it cannot truly replicate the performance of a true fourth-generation aircraft. Its primary advantage lies in its ability to economically generate large numbers of airborne threats, enabling more realistic high-end, large-scale conflict scenarios during exercises—especially crucial for U.S. military readiness in the Pacific region facing potential high-intensity conflicts.

To what extent the F/A-18E/F can fulfill this need depends on how many airframes are available for adversary missions. This requires balancing against frontline fleet demands, particularly during periods when tactical aircraft are already scarce. Moreover, the "Blue Angels" flight demonstration team also uses older "Super Hornet" acrobatic demonstration variants.

As of last April, official budget documents indicated that the U.S. Navy had 325 single-seat F/A-18Es and 250 twin-seat F/A-18Fs in inventory. These aircraft serve as the backbone of carrier air wings and support land-based operations. In recent years, the Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft have been extensively deployed in combat operations across the Middle East.

To meet the rising demand for adversary support, the U.S. Navy and other branches have increasingly relied on contractors—such as TacAir and their F-5AT—to fill the "Red Force" requirements. Yet one undeniable fact remains: the U.S. Navy and the entire U.S. military are increasingly in need of more advanced adversary capabilities, especially to prepare for threats posed by advanced fourth-generation fighters and stealth fifth-generation aircraft. In response, the U.S. Air Force has begun using its F-35A stealth fighters exclusively as adversary aircraft in high-end training and has already established a dedicated F-35 adversary squadron, while reducing reliance on outdated third-generation aircraft like the F-5 provided by contractors.

The F/A-18E/F equipped with AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar, ATFLIR targeting pod, and radar warning receiver is an exceptionally powerful adversary platform in training scenarios, capable of realistically simulating the threat posed by China’s advanced fourth-generation fighters such as the J-16. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy’s Super Hornets can carry advanced infrared search and track systems. In a relatively "clean" configuration—without external stores—the F/A-18E/F can become even more effective as an adversary, eliminating aerodynamic drag caused by underwing hardpoints. Even when fitted with wingtip missiles and belly drop tanks, it maintains excellent aerodynamic and energy maneuverability, allowing it to more authentically simulate agile enemy aircraft in dissimilar air combat training. Its renowned low-speed handling characteristics are particularly well-suited for simulating "Flanker"-class threats. A clean Super Hornet is also far better at "chasing down" escaping targets—a disadvantage commonly faced by smaller third-generation fighters when engaging fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft.

Looking ahead, as the program matures, collaborative combat aircraft or their adversary variants are likely to join the F/A-18E/F and F-16 in supporting more fundamental U.S. Navy adversary missions and generating operational-scale engagements. For the Navy’s F-5 fleet, officials appear to be developing plans to bring a definitive close to this iconic aircraft’s long-standing career in the Navy’s adversary mission—including the famed "Top Gun" program.

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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866394850914315/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.