DCMA supports 1,000th Super Hornet delivery

DCMA supports 1,000th Super Hornet delivery

By Jonathan Alfaro DCMA AIMO St. Augustine

The Defense Contract Management Agency Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations St. Augustine team successfully supported the delivery of the 1,000th modified F/A-18 Super Hornet from the contractor's facility at Cecil Airport here June 30.

The 1,000th aircraft delivery highlights decades of continuous agency F/A-18 Super Hornet support, ensuring warfighters are equipped with reliable, high-performance multi-role attack and fighter aircraft.

"Partnering closely with Boeing, DCMA shares a commitment to the quality and integrity of the F/A-18 aircraft," said Quinton Gill, a DCMA AIMO quality assurance specialist assigned to the St. Augustine contracting office.

Gill said the close collaboration with defense contractors has meant carrier based electronic aircraft like the F/A-18 Growlers and multi-role fighters like the legacy and Super F/A-18 Hornets have received their much-needed upgrades and modifications.

"When inducted at the contractor facility, aircraft undergo a variety of maintenance actions including mandatory safety checks, high-flight-hour inspections, overhauls to prolong service life, avionics upgrades, and structural modifications," Gill said.

In his role, he is responsible for routine surveillance, mandatory government inspection points, and airworthiness release validation.

"I have worked the F/A-18 program for seven years, I take pride knowing the quality assurance work we do on site guarantees the safety of our aircrews and success of their missions," he said.

The F/A-18 fleet has remained a vital Navy warfighting asset requiring depot-level maintenance to sustain global mission readiness. Even when the global pandemic slowed down operations, the St. Augustine team found a way to surge support for the modernization of aircraft belonging to the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.

"During transition from the legacy Hornet to the Super Hornet, the DCMA St. Augustine team was tasked with the high-profile, no-fail mission right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Navy Commander Alex Halberstadt, DCMA AIMO St. Augustine commander.

In August 2020, pandemic restrictions shut down the demonstration team's 2020 season, which was planned as the last flight of the legacy Hornets. As the team transited to newer aircraft, the St. Augustine team jumped into action.

"Our team worked relentlessly through severe pandemic-related hurdles and unprecedented logistical delays to ensure the Blue Angels received their modified aircraft on time to meet their demanding 2021 air show season," said Halberstadt, highlighting the close collaboration with supply chains, which guaranteed essential modification parts arrived on time.

The 2021 season was the 75th anniversary season of the Blue Angels and while COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of some shows early, the new aircraft publicly debuted April 17, 2021, at the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida.

In total, the DCMA AIMO St. Augustine team has overseen the conversion of 18 Blue Angels aircraft with 12 of the same aircraft going back to the facility for additional modifications over the years. Four aircraft are currently set to become Blue Angels over the next two years.

Looking ahead, Halberstadt said the DCMA AIMO St. Augustine team remains fully committed to this mission, continuing to work side-by-side with industry partners to sustain and modernize the F/A-18 fleet until the next generation of aircraft rolls off the assembly line.