Boeing remains the main contractor, with 44 per cent of the work to be carried out at the U.S. Navy’s federal logistics support centre in San Diego. Additional modernisation activities will take place at Boeing’s MRO facilities in San Antonio and St. Louis to accelerate the pace of upgrades.
The modernisation programme includes increasing the Super Hornet’s technical lifespan to 10,000 flight hours. This ensures operational effectiveness of the multirole fighters at least until the middle of the century, while maintaining fleet uniformity alongside the delivery of new Block III aircraft through 2027.
The upgrades will allow the U.S. Navy to sustain combat capability until the introduction of the next generation of multirole fighters, designated F/A-XX.