Australia has awarded Boeing an A$600 million, five-year contract extension to support Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.
The extension will run for five-years to 2030, according to minister for defence industry Pat Conroy.
Without offering specifics, Conroy says the contract will see Boeing “sustain and upgrade” the two fleets.
This is the second time Canberra has extended the support contract and takes the overall contract value to A$1.2 billion.
“This five-year contract extension is testament to the strength of our partnership with the Commonwealth of Australia, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian industry in enhancing Australia’s air combat and electronic attack capability,” says Scott Carpendale, vice-president and managing director of Boeing Defence Australia.
“Since commencing sustainment for Super Hornet in 2010 and Growler in 2017, we’ve developed a world-class team, enhanced local capability through increased Australian industry involvement, delivered to operational aircraft availability requirements, and provided fleet upgrades.”
Neither Conroy’s nor Boeing’s statement details exactly what upgrade work will take place, but at Australia’s Avalon air show in 2023 Boeing said it was in discussions with Canberra about potentially bringing the Super Hornets to the Block III standard and the Growlers to the Block II standard.
Block III upgrades, which are being applied to the US Navy’s Super Hornet fleet, significantly enhance the aircraft, particularly its ability to handle large amounts of data as part of a larger “kill web” that includes multiple other assets.
The RAAF operates 24 F/A-18Fs and 12 EA-18Gs.
