Mentioned:BA Boeing
The U.S. Navy intends to award Boeing a contract to design and qualify replacement parts for the AN/AYK-22 stores management processor, which controls weapons and external stores on F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The processor can no longer be supported because key components are no longer available from suppliers.
What's happening
- Naval Air Systems Command issued a sources-sought notice Oct. 9 signaling intent to award Boeing a contract under an existing basic ordering agreement for AN/AYK-22 replacement parts and qualification.
- Competing firms have until Oct. 28 to submit one-page capability statements demonstrating experience with obsolete electronic parts for military aircraft and access to required technical data.
- The stores management processor sits between the jet's mission computer and all pylons, managing weapon selection and controlling store release on both Super Hornet and EA-18G fleets.
- The Navy cited diminishing manufacturing sources as the reason the AN/AYK-22 can no longer be supported, with key components becoming obsolete across the supplier base.
Why it matters
- Replacement parts for the stores management processor are critical to extending Super Hornet and Growler service life into the mid-2030s and beyond, after production ends in 2027.
- Boeing's Service Life Modification program, which upgrades older jets to Block III standard and extends airframe life to 10,000 flight hours, depends on this obsolescence remediation to continue.
- Addressing diminishing manufacturing sources now prevents fleet-wide readiness degradation across hundreds of Super Hornets and Growlers in Navy inventory.
- The work sustains operational capability for two carrier-based platforms with no near-term replacement; the Navy is only beginning development of the F/A-XX to eventually replace both aircraft.
Going deeper
- Boeing's St. Louis production line is delivering its final Super Hornets in 2027 after the Navy's last order for 17 jets in 2024, shifting focus entirely to sustainment.
- The Navy paid Boeing $16.7 million last month to plan shutdown of both Super Hornet and Growler production lines, including inventory of government-owned tooling.
- The same day as the production shutdown planning award, the Navy selected Boeing to develop the F/A-XX future carrier fighter intended to eventually replace both platforms.
The fine print
- Contract value, number of processors involved and work completion schedule are undisclosed in the Navy notice.
- The notice is a sources-sought request, a procedural step agencies use to verify whether other contractors possess the capability, even though the Navy intends to award Boeing.
- Work is structured under an existing basic ordering agreement, establishing terms and conditions in advance of specific task orders.
Source: defence-blog.com · Oct 10, 2026 · Drafted with Claude, reviewed by Industrial Base Alpha.
