Boeing Begins Block III Upgrades On U.S. Navy’s Super Hornets | Aviation

The U.S. Navy delivered to Boeing the first Block II aircraft that will be upgraded to the new Block III configuration.

With a short video clip released on social media, Boeing announced the arrival at its St. Louis facilities of the first F/A-18 Block II Super Hornet that will be upgraded to the new Block III configuration. The Block III upgrades will be applied as part of the Service Life Modernization program, which will add 4,000 flight hours to the service life of the already delivered Super Hornets.

The F/A-18E and F/A-18F currently form the backbone of the Carrier Air Wings, being able to perform all air-to-air and air-to-ground mission profiles. The U.S. Navy took delivery of its final Block II Super Hornet, the last of 322 single-seat F/A-18E and 286 two-seat F/A-18F jets delivered since 2005, on April 17, 2020. On September 24, 2021, Boeing delivered to the Navy the first of 78 newly built Block III Super Hornets.

The first @USNavy Block II #SuperHornet to receive the Block III avionics kit has arrived in St. Louis for service life modification. The jet will depart with a 4,000 flight hour increase, a large area touch screen display and upgraded capabilities. pic.twitter.com/OkGczxEEVr

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) July 13, 2023

The first phase of the SLM program has already been in motion for some years, extending the service life of the Super Hornet from 6,000 to 7,500 flight hours. The second phase, which is starting this year, is looking to extend the service life to 10,000 flight hours and perform the modifications required for the Block III upgrades.

The key capabilities made available by the new variant include Advanced Cockpit System centered around the 10×19 inch large-area touchscreen display, an advanced network infrastructure that incorporates the Distributed Targeting Processor…

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