Boeing has been awarded a contract to further extend service life of U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F fleet as a part of modernizing the fleet of 56...
Boeing has been awarded a contract to further extend service life of U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F fleet as a part of modernizing the fleet of 568 Block II Super Hornets.
The $73 million indefinite-delivery contract will perform service life modifications on four F/A-18E/F aircraft that extends their operational service life from 6,000 to 9,000+ flight hours.
Design changes for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) will be incorporated to existing air frames based on the Service Life Assessment Program that commenced in 2008.
The F/A-18 E/F combat debuted in 2002 with a 6000 flight hour life which was expected to last for 20 years. But the platform quickly racked up flight hours due to the continuous combat operations in the Middle East region, with the first aircraft reaching its service life within in 15 years.
Along with delayed introduction of the F-35, Navy was forced to extend service life of the fleet.
Work will be performed in Boeing's St. Louis, Missouri (75 percent); and El Segundo, California (25 percent) production lines and is expected to be completed in April 2020.
The SLEP program which authorize the Super Hornet to fly 50 percent longer than originally intended, transitioned into the more comprehensive Service Life Modification (SLM) in 2016, which also include major modifications and capability upgrades to counter future threats.
Initial focus of the SLM program will be to extend the life of the fleet, but will expand to include Block II to Block III conversion, systems grooming and reset and O-level maintenance tasks designed to deliver a more maintainable aircraft with an extended life and more capability.
In the early 2020s, Boeing will begin installing initial updates to the aircraft that will convert existing Block II Super Hornets to a new Block III configuration.
An additional production line will be established in San Antonio, Texas in 2019, for follow-on contracts awarded over the next 10 years.
These updates are expected to keep US Navy F/A-18 in active service until 2040s, or another 10 to 15 years.
The Block III conversion will include enhanced network capability, longer range with conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an enhanced communication system.
Unlike external drop tanks, the conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) are fitted closely to the profile of an aircraft and thus extend the reach with reduced drag.
They also free up hard points allowing more payload to be carried. Compared to legacy drop tanks, the CFT will extend Block III range by up to 150 nautical miles.
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| Block 3 Cockpit Boeing Photo |
The Block III is equipped with Elbit Systems Advanced Cockpit System (ACS) with a 10X19 inch touch screen that provide all the vital information at a single screen.
The under belly pod mounted Block II IRST sensor will provide a passive long range target detection capability independent of the aircraft radar. This makes the aircraft hard to detect.
