Mary-Louise Hoffman
Boeing is considering investing money to extend production of its F/A-18 multirole fighter aircraft at a company facility in St. Louis, Missouri, as it awaits government decision on potential sales to Kuwait and the U.S. Navy, Reuters reported Friday.
Andrea Shalal writes Dan Gillian, head of Boeing’s F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft programs, said he expects the company to decide in the coming weeks whether to obtain F/A-18E/F production materials using its own cash.
Kuwait seeks to buy up to 28 Super Hornets through a foreign military sales agreement with the U.S. government, Shalal reports.
The Navy has requested funds to procure two Super Hornets in fiscal 2017 and an additional 14 aircraft units in fiscal 2018, the report said.
Gillian told Reuters last week that currently approved Navy orders of the aircraft will keep the St. Louis facility’s production line operating through June 2018.
He added the company could continue to build F/A-18s into the early 2020s if the government approves additional orders from the military service and Kuwait.
