The end of the line for Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is fast approaching.
On 23 February 2023,
Boeing disclosed plans to cease production of the venerable fourth-generation fighter in late 2025
after delivering the final jet to the US Navy (USN).
Boeing, which produces F/A-18s in St Louis, Missouri, still holds unfilled orders from the USN for 76 F/A-18E/Fs.
The airframer says it could extend production to 2027
if a non-US customer places new orders.
The Indian navy has been evaluating the F/A-18F for potential use as a carrier-based fighter,
with the service also being offered the Dassault Rafale M.
The company is positioning the move
as enabling it to focus more attention on developing next-generation military aircraft.
Boeing insists it will remain a force in St Louis,
with plans build “three new state-of-the-art facilities” there and to continue hiring.
Its work in St Louis also includes production of several products, including an “all-digital training system”,
T-7A Red Hawk jet trainers and the MQ-25 Stingray,
an autonomous refuelling aircraft to be deployed from USN aircraft carriers.
Boeing’s St Louis work also includes production of F-15EX Eagle IIs
and wing components for its in-development 777X.
News that the F/A-18’s curtain is closing comes 45 years
after long-defunct McDonnell Douglas first flew the twin-engined Hornet in 1978.
Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997.
The companies have delivered more than 2,000 F/A-18s,
including the first-generation version,
which entered service in 1983, according to Boeing.
The updated F/A-18E/F Super Hornet made its first flight in 1995,
and Boeing delivered the first of another upgrade, the Block II Super Hornet, in 2005.
It has also developed a Block III. GE Aerospace supplies the F/A-18’s twin F414 engines.
Boeing says it will continue supporting F/A-18s,
including by rolling out upgrades and through work under a service-life extension programme expected to continue through the mid-2030s.
Its current production examples are in the Block III standard.
Super Hornet production to end in 2025, following Indian competition loss
RAF Fairford
Boeing expects to finish production of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet within around two years,
following the type’s defeat in an Indian Navy contest for 26 carrier-based fighters.
“We are likely to cease production around the 2025 timeframe,” confirms Bernd Peters,
air dominance vice-president business development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
The company had in February 2023 said that securing a new international order for the type would potentially enable it to continue manufacturing activities until 2027.
“We’re extremely proud of the offer we put forward to India,”
Peters told at the Royal International Air Tattoo in the UK on 14 July 2023,
one day after New Delhi had announced its selection of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale M.
Remaining production of the Super Hornet at Boeing’s St. Louis site in Missouri will be for the US Navy,
with the service’s concluding order still being negotiated.
“We are still working on the final contract for the last aircraft,” Peters says.
The company has, however, already received some funds to support long-lead activities by its supply chain.
It is waiting on approval to build 12 aircraft using fiscal year 2022 funds,
and a last eight examples via the FY2023 allocation.
Meanwhile, Peters says Boeing is optimistic of securing an order to supply Israel with up to 50 F-15EX Eagle IIs.
A deal is likely to include a firm order for 25 of the new model, plus the same number of options.
Indonesia also has previously expressed interest in potentially acquiring 36.
Boeing expects Israel to follow the US Air Force in acquiring its F-15EX Eagle II
Two EX-model fighters have so far been delivered to support operational test and evaluation work by the US Air Force (USAF).
Although production of the Super Hornet is nearing conclusion,
Peters notes that the airframer is investing for a long future in the air dominance sector,
even as the USAF makes preparations to acquire a so-called sixth-generation platform.
“We’re extremely proud of our fighter heritage. We want to continue to stay in the fighter business, and we are making investments in our production system,” Peters says.
In addition to its F-15EX output,
the St. Louis site also is currently performing work on its T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer for the USAF,
plus four MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tankers for the US Navy.
Full-rate production of the MQ-25 will be performed at a new factory being constructed at MidAmerica St. Louis airport.
/reeve.gif)
