  We report recent progress in the development of large-area hydrophobic silica
aerogels for use as radiators in the aerogel-based ring-imaging Cherenkov
(A-RICH) counter to be installed in the forward end cap of the Belle II
detector, which is currently being upgraded at the High Energy Accelerator
Research Organization (KEK), Japan. The production of approximately 450 aerogel
tiles with refractive indices of either 1.045 or 1.055 was completed in May,
2014, and the tiles are now undergoing optical characterization. Installation
of the aerogels was tested by installing them into a partial mock-up of the
support structure.
