boeing-sets-out-upgrade-ambitions-for-super-hornet-growler-platforms

Boeing is currently under contract to begin work on a service life extension programme (SLEP) for the US Navy to increase the airframe hours of the Super Hornet from the current 6,000 to 9,000.

The earliest aircraft to have been delivered to the USN are now reaching the end of their current service lives, which is two years ahead of the planned declaration of initial operating capability for the carrier variant Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

As well as the SLEP, the Pentagon's FY 2017 budget proposal will request up to 28 additional Super Hornets to try to offset any shortfall in the number of strike fighters available on the navy's aircraft carriers, and more are expected in the FY 2018 budget.