Stung Hornets

Cracks in a hot Navy fighter

It is, according to Navy Secretary John Lehman, "the most capable air-to-air maneuvering aircraft in the world." But last week the Navy announced that its new F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bombers had a design flaw that produces cracks in the twin tail assembly. The planes will be grounded for three or four days while the tail assembly is modified. At least ten Hornets have developed the cracks and will be out of service for a longer period.

So far, the Navy has acquired 148 Hornets at a cost of $30 million each. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger said that the manufacturer, McDonnell Douglas, will have to pay for the repairs, estimated at "thousands of dollars" per plane.

Said he: "They have a responsibility to deliver a serviceable plane."

McDonnell Douglas explained that the Hornet was developed from a prototype designed by Northrop, the YF-17. In the process, the shape of the wing extensions that give the plane its high maneuverability was changed and a different engine was used. When prototypes were tested ten years ago, McDonnell Douglas did not notice that the modifications put additional stress on the tail assembly. The reason, according to the company, was partly "a real squeeze on development money." Despite the problems, the Navy expects to begin deploying the Hornet aboard the carrier U.S.S. Constellation in the fall. Nor has it changed its plans to buy more than 1,300 of the F/A-18s at a cost of nearly $40 billion over the next decade. Pilots, however, have been warned to avoid high-angle attack maneuvers until the design flaw is corrected.

Weinberger also accused General Dynamics and its Electric Boat Division last week of "extraordinary neglect" for delivering the first of eleven nuclear-powered Trident submarines 2 1/2 years behind schedule. Democratic Senator William Proxmire, meanwhile, produced documents purporting to show that General Dynamics had made unreasonably low bids on contracts for 18 Los Angeles-class nuclear attack subs, then relied on huge cost overruns to ensure its profits.