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A 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew prepares to install a wing onto an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Left, Cheyanne Cummings and Cody Lupcho, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, prepare hardware for a wing installation on an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Brandy Stewart, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, installs a door panel onto an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Hunter Ward, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit, installs radar components onto an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Mike Minchey, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, prepares to install a wing onto an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Right, Mike Minchey and Evan Mallory, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, install a wing onto an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

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Brayden Kilvang, 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, prepares a wing attachment surface on an F-16 Fighting Falcon undergoing a Service Life Extension Program work package at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 4, 2022. The 573rd AMXS is in the midst of the most extensive SLEP structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 airframe. The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

573rd AMXS working largest F-16 SLEP to date

Published Aug. 18, 2022
By R. Nial Bradshaw

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is in the midst of the most extensive Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) structural modifications and upgrades ever done on the F-16 Fighting Falcon airframe.

The work being done on block 40-52 F-16s includes removal and replacement of bulkheads, longerons and 13 other major modifications driven by time compliant technical orders.

The squadron began the SLEP in 2018 and will deliver more than 300 modernized jets to the U.S. Air Force and allied nations at an expected rate of approximately 30 jets a year.

The SLEP work is part of one of the largest modernization efforts in Air Force history and will ensure the fourth-generation fighter remains effective in meeting current and future threats.