Our troops need fighter jets they can depend on — that’s why the new Service Life Modification (SLM) program is so exciting to Boeing employees like me.
My name is Dave Sallenbach and I help build F/A-18 Super Hornets at Boeing’s facility in St. Louis. I have spent my career helping to build American fighter jets. I’m excited to see some of the very planes I helped build come back to St. Louis so we can give them a big upgrade.
In 2018, the SLM program will refurbish and modernize four F/A-18 Super Hornets for the U.S. Navy. The program will eventually update 30 to 40 Super Hornets per year and more than 350 over the next decade.
According to Rear Adm. Michael Moran of the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is “the premiere strike fighter for the U.S. Navy today and for the foreseeable future.” The SLM program will extend the life of the Navy’s most crucial fighter aircraft to 9,000 flight hours — a massive increase in service time.
Not only will the program extend the life of these jets, it will add additional features such as new touch-screen cockpit computers, more advanced targeting systems and modern fuel tanks that increase each jet’s range.
The SLM program is an important step towards ensuring our men and women in uniform have the support they need on the battlefield.
Find out more about Boeing’s plans to reboot and modernize America’s fighter jets.