Boeing has launched F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Service-Life Modification (SLM) process with the first US Navy aircraft arrived at the company’s St Louis production facility.
The SLM contract includes aircraft inspections and physical verification of fleet usage, warranty and non-warranty modifications, repairs incident to modification, recurring and non-recurring engineering efforts, logistics, project management, parts, kits and associated materials and data. The aircraft already delivered will be retrofitted to the SLM and Block 3 standard and new aircraft rolling off the line from 2022 will be built to this standard.
The Block 3 will include upgrades to the Raytheon AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an Elbit Systems large area display (LAD) ‘glass’ cockpit and next-generation avionics, an infrared search and track (IRST), conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), Integrated Defensive Electronic Counter Measures (IDECM; and new General Electric F-414-400 enhanced engines.
211216-N-QI061-1222 NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (December 16, 2021) An MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), sits on the flight line at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Dec. 16, 2021. VUP-19, the Navy’s first Triton squadron, will continue to maintain and operate the aircraft off the East Coast to further develop the concept of operations and refine tactics, techniques, and procedures. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan T. Beard/ Released)