Boeing completed the modernization and life extension of the first two F/A-18 Block III Super Hornets, delivering them to the U.S. Navy one month ahead of schedule from St. Louis and two months ahead of schedule from San Antonio. The upgraded aircraft have the same capabilities as the Super Hornets delivered from Boeing’s new production line.
The first two F/A-18 #SuperHornet to receive the Block III Avionics kit + 4,000 flight-hours extension through Service Life Modification (SLM) flew home to the @USNavy.
Learn how #TeamBoeing SLM employees worked together to ensure Block III capability is delivered to the fleet. pic.twitter.com/pEwYFmA5AO
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) June 27, 2024
“Our success in meeting the accelerated timeline is proof our service life modification game plan is working,” said Faye Dixon, Boeing SLM director. “Thanks to our years of learning on the program and our partnership with the Navy, the F/A-18 Super Hornet remains at the forefront of defense technology with renewed years of service to support the fleet.”
Boeing reports that it was able to improve productivity and is completing Block III upgrades ahead of the 15-month contract requirement.
“Great measures were taken by the Boeing and Navy teams to ensure these are the safest and most capable Block III F/A-18s we can give our warfighters,” said Mark Sears, Boeing Fighters vice president. “These are just the first of many deliveries, with around 15 years of SLM deliveries to go. Our warfighters are counting on us to get this right every time.”
The Block III upgrades include a large-area display and a more powerful computer system, providing pilots with greater situational awareness and decision-making capabilities. The work is being performed at Boeing facilities in St. Louis and San Antonio, and at the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Southwest in San Diego.
Boeing and Fleet Readiness Center Southwest signed a public-private partnership agreement in March to expand the scope of work, paving the way for the readiness center to now perform the same Block III SLM (Service Life Modification) work performed in St. Louis and San Antonio.
The SLM program involves a series of structural modifications needed to increase the service life of aircraft. In the current state of the program, an aircraft undergoing SLM goes from the original design flight hours of 6,000 to 7,500. But there are plans for future modifications that would extend the flight hours to 10,000, in addition to incorporating the new Block III capabilities.
“These first deliveries of Block III SLM jets are a major milestone in our continued efforts to ensure capability, reliability, availability and maintainability of the Super Hornet aircraft,” said Capt. Michael Burks, program manager for the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Boeing to deliver this critical warfighting capability to the fleet.”
