combat aircraft

NEW

STING

IN THE

TAIL

We have to  y this airplane to 2035-plus,
so we are going to do all outstanding
modi cations and then we’re going
to upgrade the aircraft to the Block III
con guration. This is signi cantly di erent
than any kind of modi cation program we
have done in the navy and which is why
we come to Boeing.’
Mark Spears, Boeing’s previous SLM
director, earlier this year told Combat
Aircraft, ‘The initial focus of this program
will extend the life of the  eet from 6,000
to 9,000  ight hours. But SLM will expand
to include Block II to Block III conversion,
systems grooming and reset and zero-
level maintenance tasks designed to

deliver a more maintainable aircraft with

an extended life and more capability.’

Indeed, jets leaving SLM will  y for at least

another 10-15 years.

Dan Gillian, Boeing’s vice-president of

F/A-18 programs, said that the  rst step of

the process, increasing life to 7,500 hours,

will last, ‘until 2022, when we go ‘full kit’.’

Gillian estimates that about 100 aircraft

will go through a two-step modi cation,

equating to roughly 18 per cent of the

navy’s active Super Hornets.

Moran said, ‘We’ve got to get the

engineering done right, we’ve got to get

it done early so we can build the kit and

allow the workforce the time to go do

it. We have to deliver these airplanes on

time. We induct them [into SLM]; they’ve

got to deliver them in the time we expect

so we can get them back into the  eld.’

Boeing estimates the initial aircraft

coming through the SLM program will

take 18 months before being returned

to the  eet, and that the process will

eventually be condensed to closer to a

year. According to Moran, this additional

time for the initial aircraft will give Boeing

engineers and assembly personnel ‘time

to learn’. He adds, ‘Because we know we’re

going to learn as we tear this airplane

apart, we want to make sure we do it at a

phased, step-stone approach. But about

http://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 45