India is front and centre of significant opportunities for Boeing, with India's defence forces having invested in advanced capabilities for now and the future. Boeing is committed to supporting, as well as helping the modernisation of India's armed forces.
At a virtual pre-Farnborough Air Show 2020 briefing, Boeing discussed its delivery of two F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet flight test aircraft to the US Navy. Boeing is on schedule to deliver next-generation Block III capabilities to the US Navy in 2021. By 2024, one squadron per carrier air wing will consist of Block III Super Hornets. The same Block III aircraft that is being built for the US. Navy is on offer to the Indian Navy.
Thom Breckenridge, vice president of International Sales for Strike, Surveillance and Mobility, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, stated that “the F/A-18 for the Indian Navy provides the best capability with the Block III configuration, and benefits from the multi-billion dollar investments made towards new technologies in the Super Hornet by the US Navy and international customers. Additionally, the F/A-18 Super Hornet will provide superior value and tremendous opportunity to the Indian Navy. It can enhance collaboration in the areas of naval aviation between the Indian Navy and the US Navy to maintain peace and security throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The F/A-18 Super Hornet will enhance collaboration between the US Navy and Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean region. Boeing's plan is to offer 'By India, For India' sustainment programme that will build on other successful sustainment programmes that Boeing is executing for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy today, to sustain, modify and upgrade F/A-18 Super Hornet from India”.
The Super Hornet will offer the Indian Navy the most economical path to get access to newer technologies. With massive scale of the Super Hornets (more than 700 plus aircraft in US inventory), the cost of incorporating newly developed advanced technologies will be very competitive as the overall cost will be spread across large number of aircrafts. The future collaboration between the two navies can thrive on huge economies of scale which helps in interoperability and improves economics for collaboration on new technologies to meet the emerging threats. The F/A-18 Super Hornet has a very attractive lifecycle cost. It not only has an affordable acquisition cost, but it costs less per flight hour to operate than any other tactical aircraft in production in the US forces inventory, including single engine fighters. This is possible because the fighter is designed for ease of maintainability and offers impressive durability
Torbjorn (Turbo) Sjogren, vice president, International Government and Defence, highlighted trends in government services offerings seen around the world in digital, training, supply chain and maintenance. "We see tremendous opportunity for growth in India's defence sector and further strengthening our relationship with the armed forces. We are committed to flawless execution on our current programmes and supporting India with their future defence needs" stated Sjogren. "Also, with India's recent strides in space exploration and ambitions towards human space flights before August 2022, we see immense opportunity to partner with ISRO in their endeavours. Notwithstanding our six decades of space experience, Boeing is inspired by what India has achieved and its aspirations for the future," Sjogren added.
With lessons learned from supporting C-17, P-8I and other aircraft in India, combined with in-depth Boeing experience in sustaining aircrafts worldwide, Boeing is in the process of developing sustainment concepts for the Apache and Chinook. Boeing is seeing a wave of big international opportunities and campaigns in this region and around the globe.
Torbjorn (Turbo) Sjogren, vice president, International Government and Defence, Boeing
Thom Breckenridge, vice president of International Sales for Strike, Surveillance and Mobility, Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Boeing and USAF in Historic Deal for the F-15EX
The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a nearly $1.2 billion contract to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets to help the service meet its capacity requirements and add capability to its fighter fleet. The award also covers support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. Already under construction at the Boeing F-15 production facility in St. Louis, the first two jets deliver next year.
The USAF is also announcing the overall Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a ceiling value of nearly $23 billion for F-15EX. “The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, due in large part to its digital backbone,” stated Lori Schneider, Boeing F-15EX programme manager. “Its unmatched range, price and best-in-class payload capacity make the F-15EX an attractive choice for the US Air Force.”
The F-15EX carries more weapons than any other fighter in its class and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000 pounds. To further support the digital airframe and advance rapid technology insertion, the F-15 programme serves as a pathfinder for the Department of Defence’s DevSecOps initiative, aimed at developing secure, flexible and agile software. Additionally, open mission systems architecture ensures its viability for decades.
“F-15EX brings together benefits of digital engineering, open mission systems and agile software development to keep it affordable and upgradable for decades to come,” stated Prat Kumar, Boeing vice president and F-15 programme manager. “This means we can rapidly test and field new capabilities on F-15EX keeping our warfighters ahead of threats.”
Pilots and mechanics currently operating the F-15 anticipate transitioning to the F-15EX in a matter of days as opposed to years. Future plans call for as many as 144 aircraft.