Thursday 15 June 2017

USAF and USN Both Come To Terms With Long 4th Generation Fighter Futures


Upgrade programs and new purchases will keep the Super Hornet and Viper fleets mission ready at least into the 2040s and possibly well beyond.

BY JOSEPH TREVITHICKJUNE 14, 2017

The U.S. Air Force is looking to extend the life of hundreds of F-16C/D Vipers, even more than we previously reported. At the same time, the U.S. Navy seems to have come to a similar conclusion with plans to buy more and better F/A-18E/F Super Hornet derivatives. Suffice it to say that the 4th generation fighter will be alive and well within the Pentagon's inventory for a long, long time to come.

On June 12, 2017, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) posted a presolictation notice on the U.S. government’s main contracting website, FedBizOpps regarding production of upgrade kits for the service’s F-16 Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). The latest announcement on the project, now more than three years in the making, has the service pushing the maximum equivalent flight hours for up to 841 Block 40/42 and 50/52 F-16C/D aircraft to more than 13,800 hours in total. The F-16C/D's original life expectancy was 8,000 hours.


Read entire article: HERE


Related post:


F-16 Fighting Falcon: Details


F/A-18E/F & Block III Super Hornet: Details

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