GE said it has been awarded a 12-year Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract from the Australian Department of Defence for F404 and F414 engines powering the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Boeing [BA] F/A-18A/B Hornet and soon-to-be-acquired F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft.
“We’re pleased to expand our successful relationship with Australia and collaborate to ensure the optimum fleet readiness of all ADF F404 and F414 engines,” Tony Mathis, GE’s Turbofan/Turbojet Department general manager said.
This F404/F414 total logistics support contract covers all aspects of logistics, intermediate and deeper maintenance, and engineering support for the remaining life of the F/A- 18 Hornet fleet and the projected life of the F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet.
The performance-based contract structure will benefit from a combination of U.S. and Australian capabilities to ensure engine availability for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the most cost-effective manner possible.
Key partners for GE in the execution of the contract include Tasman Aviation Enterprises (TAE) based in Amberley QLD, Goodrich [GR] Customer Services Asia Pacific based in Sydney, and the U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center Southeast based in Jacksonville Fla.