Super Hornet traded peak capability for affordable air-group mass

Did the US Navy make a mistake choosing Super Hornet instead of Super Tomcat?

Super Tomcat offered more capability, but Super Hornet was cheaper to operate and allowed the Navy to sustain larger air groups.

The decision was financially rational even if the more ambitious aircraft had operational attractions. Super Tomcat promised more payload and performance, but its maintenance and operating costs threatened the number of deployable aircraft. A true advanced Tomcat would also require restarting production and would be a new aircraft internally despite its familiar shape. One possible middle course was a single Super Tomcat squadron for demanding missions, with cheaper Super Hornets supplying the rest of each carrier's numbers.