Says Possible Foreign Orders May Extend The Life Of The Programs

A senior Boeing official says that the company is optimistic about extending production of both the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G fighters beyond 2017, when the programs are scheduled to sunset.

Dan Gillian, who leads the Hornet and Growler programs for Boeing, said in an interview with Reuters that the planemaker is looking at a likely order from Denmark in June or July, and that another order could come from a Middle Eastern country in the second quarter of this year.

Gillian said Boeing will need to make a decision by mid-2015, which would be before Congress is likely to pass a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. He said a difficult U.S. budget environment has the planemaker looking overseas for extension of the production of new airplanes.

But the service life of the aircraft will extend to about 2040, and it will fly alongside the F-35. Boeing, meanwhile, is working on further upgrades to the jets.

Gillain said in the coming weeks, Boeing will determine whether it will begin another "major" lobbying campaign for the production line.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.boeing.com