Boeing has announced that the F/A-18 Super Hornet production line will be shut down in 2025. Since 1974, the F-18 has been produced in various variants.
If Boeing wins the tender for carrier-based fighters in India, the production line could be shut down for another two years. Even after production is halted, modernization of the already delivered and armed Super Hornet aircraft will continue.
For the first time, Boeing has provided a firm end-of-production date. According to reports, this indicates that the corporate perspective has shifted and resources will be redirected to new products. Systems developed primarily in large military programmes are manufactured and used for as long as possible.
Instead of pursuing the Super Hornet, Boeing will direct its financial and human resources towards promising projects such as the F-15EX, T-7A, and MQ-25. Boeing intends to direct approximately 1,500 Super Hornet programme employees to these projects.
It stated that the St. Louis production line would be used to produce new types of aircraft. This facility may eventually produce 6th generation fighter jets.
McDonnell Douglas was the first to develop the F-18. Following Boeing’s acquisition of the company, production was transferred to Boeing. Over 2,000 F-18 fighters were built, including the F-18 Hornet, Super Hornet, and Growler variants.
Except for an additional 8 Super Hornet orders approved by the US Congress, the company will not accept any additional orders for this year. Congress ordered a total of 20 new F-18 Super Hornets, 12 in 2022 and eight more in 2023. The line will be shut down after 8 additional packages are delivered in 2025.
Thus, 698 Super Hornets will be added to the US Navy inventory within the next 30 years. The F-18, which was first produced by McDonnell Douglas in 1974, will be in production for exactly 51 years if the Hornet version is included in the production shutdown. The Super Hornet went into production in 1995 and would last for 30 years. The program to upgrade the US Navy’s Super Hornet fleet to Block III status is also ongoing. Along these lines, some modernization efforts within the modernization program will be maintained.
