By Wording OD
Boeing anticipates an extension of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and
EA-18G Growler production lines as a result of an increased operational
tempo by the US Navy (USN) and strong international interest in
procuring the platform, company officials told reporters on 10 June.
Speaking at Boeing's Global Sustainment and Support (GS&S) site
at Cecil Field in northern Florida, Dan Gillian, Vice President of the
F/A-18 and EA-18G programmes, said that, with the USN burning through
airframe hours at a far higher rate than originally intended and with
additional exports expected in the near term, the company is confident
of extending production from the current mid-2018 cut-off point through
into the next decade.
"I believe that we will continue to build new Hornets and Growlers.
We have slowed production down to two aircraft per month, and we will
keep it at that level through to mid-2018. There is strong domestic and
international demand that we see sustaining production through to the
mid-2020s," Gillian said.
The US Navy's current programme of record is for 568 Super Hornets
and 160 Growlers. As Gillian noted, however, the service has identified a
'Super Hornet shortfall' that will materialise in the 2030s/2040s as
aircraft prematurely reach the end of their 6,000 hour airframe lives
owing to the high operational tempo being flown today. To try and
mitigate this, additional aircraft have already been requested in the
fiscal year defence budget, and Gillian expressed his confidence that
these will be approved.
On the international front, Gillian noted that a deal with Kuwait is
currently going through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process with
the US government and should be finalised in the not-too-distant future.
Current legacy Hornet operator Finland has issued a request for
proposals (RfP) that Boeing is preparing its response to, as has
Belgium. Spain, which also now flies the Hornet, is in the early stages
of a fighter procurement project for which Boeing will bid the Super
Hornet, while India and Canada are being offered the platform to fulfil
their respective requirements also.
Source: Jane´s Defense/Boeing
