Why the US Navy picked the F/A-18 Super Hornet over a single-role fighter

The US Navy once relied on specialized fighters like the F-14 Tomcat, but today it mostly uses the F/A-18 Super Hornet, with the newer F-35C joining the fleet. The Navy considered replacing the Tomcat with a dedicated air superiority jet, but budget cuts and the end of the Cold War made that idea le