US Navy to receive 3 Modernized F/A-18 Block III Fighters by April

Boeing has delivered the first modernized F/A-18 Block III jet to the US Navy, and will deliver two more of them by April 2020.

“Boeing has given an F/A-18 a new lease on life after delivering the first Super Hornet under the Service Life Modification (SLM) to the US Navy. The second SLM jet will deliver by the end of the month, and Boeing will deliver the third F/A-18 in April,” the company said in a statement Thursday.

The Service Life Modification program will deliver more than 450 F/A-18 Super Hornet jets to the US Navy through 2033, Boeing said.

“SLM is going to provide a critical resource for the Navy to re-capitalize on long-serving aircraft to return them to the fleet in a near new condition,” said Capt. Stephen May, PMA-265 co-lead for E/F/G Air Vehicles. “It will reduce burden on our maintainers, our supply system and our depot level assets within the enterprise.”

There are now 15 Super Hornets in SLM on production lines in St. Louis and San Antonio. It takes 18 months to complete modifications on an F/A-18, although that time will be driven down to one year as the SLM progresses. Boeing will deliver five more Super Hornets this year.

The Block III conversion will include enhanced network capability, conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an enhanced communication system. The updates are expected to keep the F/A-18 in active service for decades to come.