On Monday, Boeing received a $172.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract to extend the operational service life of the FA-18 E and F Super Hornet aircraft. Under the terms of the new agreement, Boeing will extend the operational service life from 6,000 flight hours to 10,000 flight hours of around 23 aircraft.

The United States Navy widely uses the Hornet, which has been in operation since 1995, and the plane was set to be retired from service beginning in 2020.

The Super Hornet model is 25 percent larger than the base model hornet and has flown the most combat missions for the US Navy out of any aircraft that are currently operational. Despite not being a stealth aircraft, the plane does have a low visibility point both visually and on radar cross-sections and it is also very versatile. The Hornet was designed to carry several different payloads and equipment packages, making it a mainstay for the force. The Department Of Defense announced Monday that Boeing would help keep it that way.

The Hornet began service in the US Navy in 1999 and flew its first official combat missions in 2002. There have been over 430 of the Super Hornet model delivered to the Navy. It has a stellar safety record and is one of the few aircraft in the history of flight to be produced and delivered on or ahead of schedule and under budget. The Hornet is also capable of taking off and landing on land-based airfields making carrier operations and multi-role missions possible for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Super Hornet
A navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet crashed in ocean near the Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, late Wednesday afternoon, killing two aviators. In this photo, an F/A 18E Super Hornet from the United States Navy fighter squadron VFA-115 conducts a fly-by after concluding a bombing and strafing run in Townsville, Australia, April 6, 2016. Getty Images/ Ian Hitchcock

Capt. Eugene Gray, a US Navy pilot, told the International Business Times that the Hornet is being phased out of service in favor of the F-35 stealth fighter, not because it is lacking but because the DoD would like continuity across all branches of the service as far as aircraft parts maintenance and munitions are concerned.

It is sad to see the end of an era but it is also easy to see why they would keep a token force of 23 aircraft up and running for the foreseeable future. The contract aims to go all the way through 2035 keeping the aircraft flying off of American carriers.

RELATED STORIES