The last paragraph of that article is the only accurate part.
The rest is a journo trying to create a false impression by distorting and outright falsifying the situation... as well as calling a senior Naval Officer a liar.
The reality is that ONLY the legacy Hornets (F/A-18A/B/C/D) are to be replaced by F-35C... the Super Hornets were ALWAYS to be operated beside F-35C, NOT replaced by them!
The original plan was to replace the F/A-18E/F/G much later with UCAVs ONLY.
This proposal for yet another manned carrier strike-fighter seems to be for a less "cutting-edge" aircraft.... to fill out the numbers that UCAVs were supposed to have filled all on their own.
So much for that "The F-35 is the last manned fighter we will buy" hype the DOD was spouting before 2010!
The real headline and story should have been "Navy loses confidence in Unmanned Combat Drones, seeks manned substitute!".