IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 983 
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the F/A–18 E1 Super 
Hornet from Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, and the 30 years 
of service of the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet to the United States Navy 
and to allies of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2026 
Mrs. WAGNER (for herself and Mr. LIEU) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the 
F/A–18 E1 Super Hornet from Lambert Field in St. 
Louis, Missouri, and the 30 years of service of the F/ 
A–18E/F Super Hornet to the United States Navy and 
to allies of the United States. 
Whereas, on November 29, 1995, the F/A–18 E1 Super Hor-
net made its first flight, departing from Lambert Field 
in St. Louis, Missouri, flown by McDonnell Douglas pilot, 
retired Lieutenant Colonel Fred Madenwald; 
Whereas the F/A–18 E1, as the inaugural Super Hornet pro-
duced, serves as a United States Navy carrier-based, su-
personic fighter jet, manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri; 
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•HRES 983 IH 
Whereas the F/A–18 E1 was later returned to the Boeing fa-
cility in St. Louis for use in training under a program 
involving aircraft sales to Kuwait; 
Whereas the F/A–18E is configured as a single-seat aircraft 
and the F/A–18F is designed for a 2-person crew; 
Whereas the F/A–18E and F/A–18F are twin-engine, carrier- 
capable, multi-role fighter aircrafts, both derived from 
the McDonnell Douglas F/A–18 Hornet platform; 
Whereas the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet is about 20 percent 
larger, 7,000 pounds heavier empty weight, and 15,000 
pounds heavier maximum weight than the original 
McDonnell Douglas F/A–18 Hornet; 
Whereas, on February 21, 1997, at Naval Air Station Patux-
ent River in Maryland, the F/A–18 E1 flew with an 
aeroservoelasticity-store configuration, comprised of 3 
480-gallon fuel tanks, 2 MK–84 bombs, 2 AGM–88 high- 
speed anti-radiation missiles, and 2 AIM–9 sidewinder 
missiles, making this flight the heaviest test flight to that 
date in the test program; 
Whereas the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet officially entered the 
fleet service of the United States Navy in 1999, with 
Strike Fighter Squadron 122 based at Naval Air Station 
Lemoore in California, and achieved initial operating ca-
pability in 2001; 
Whereas, on November 6, 2002, F/A–18E models partici-
pated in a strike on hostile targets in the ‘‘no-fly’’ zone 
in Iraq, as a part of Operation Southern Watch; 
Whereas, on June 18, 2017, a United States Navy F/A–18E 
shot down a Syrian Air Force Sukoi Su–22 fighter-bomb-
er that had bombed a position held by Coalition 
partnered forces; 
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•HRES 983 IH 
Whereas such shooting was the first aerial kill of a crewed 
aircraft by a fighter aircraft of the United States since 
1999, the first aerial kill by the United States Navy since 
the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the first kill by a Super Hor-
net, and the third kill by an F/A–18; 
Whereas the United States Navy Flight Demonstration 
Squadron, the Blue Angels, which operates out of Naval 
Air Station Pensacola, Florida, transitioned to the F/A– 
18E Super Hornet airframe in 2021, on the 75th anni-
versary of the squadron’s operation; 
Whereas the F/A–18F Super Hornet gained recognition as 
the primary fighter aircraft featured in the film ‘‘Top 
Gun: Maverick’’; 
Whereas, in December 2023, the F/A–18 E1 arrived unas-
sembled at the National Museum of Transportation, on 
loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum on behalf 
of the Naval History and Heritage Command; 
Whereas, in July 2024, the reassembly and installation of the 
F/A–18 E1 were completed, with a dedication ceremony 
held on August 3, 2024; 
Whereas the Naval Air Station Lemoore, in California, is the 
West Coast home for the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet, and 
the Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia, is the East 
Coast home for the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet; 
Whereas the F/A–18F Super Hornet operates in Nevada in 
support of training on the Fallon Range Training Com-
plex at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada; 
Whereas the TOPGUN school is located at Naval Air Station 
Fallon, Nevada, where the Navy’s most elite pilots train 
on the F/A–18E/F aircraft; 
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•HRES 983 IH 
Whereas the Royal Australian Air Force F/A–18F Super 
Hornet achieved final operational capability in December 
2012 and are based at Number 1 Squadron at Royal 
Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia; 
Whereas, on July 10, 2023, a Mobile Aircraft Arresting Sys-
tem received a Kuwait Air Force F/A–18 Super Hornet 
at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait; 
Whereas Super Hornets embarked on USS Gerald Ford, USS 
Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS 
Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Harry S. Truman were in-
volved in defending Israel and ensuring the free flow of 
goods through the Red Sea as part of Operation Pros-
perity Guardian from December 2023 to May 2025; 
Whereas, on February 3, 2024, 2 United States destroyers 
and F/A–18E/F Super Hornets flying from USS Dwight 
D. Eisenhower joined a multi-national strike on 13 loca-
tions in Yemen; 
Whereas, on February 1, 2025, the Armed Forces of the 
United States carried out an airstrike in Somalia from 
the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, which 
was the largest airstrike launched from a single aircraft 
carrier in the history of naval aviation; and 
Whereas the strike dropped approximately 124,000 pounds of 
munitions on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Somalia 
targets: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the achievements and contribu-
tions of the F/A–18E/F Super Hornet to the na-
tional security of the United States; 
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•HRES 983 IH 
(2) recognizes the dedication, service, and sac-
rifice of the United States Navy pilots and weapons 
system officers who have operated the F/A–18E/F 
Super Hornet; 
(3) recognizes the dedication, service, and sac-
rifice of the United States Navy F/A–18E/F Super 
Hornet maintenance teams who provide expert and 
agile support to the aircraft; 
(4) recognizes the role that the F/A–18E/F 
Super Hornet has had in maintaining naval suprem-
acy and ensuring freedom of the seas; and 
(5) respectfully directs the Clerk of the House 
of Representatives to transmit an enrolled copy of 
this resolution to the National Museum of Transpor-
tation in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Æ 
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