The House Armed Services Committee is backing a request by Missouri Republican Representative Vickie Hartzler to fund the construction of 12 more Boeing Super Hornet jets.
Hartzler’s request of slightly more than 1.1-billion dollars is contained in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act. If approved, the funding would allow Boeing to construct two F/A 18 Super Hornets a month at its St. Louis facility.
“With 12 additional aircrafts that would be an additional six months, and so it will keep the line going longer and that’s what our goal is.”
Last month Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jonathan Greenert told Congress the Navy is facing a potential shortage of up to 36 jets. With longer than anticipated maintenance on older aircraft, newer Super Hornets are burning through flying hours at a faster rate than planned.