The United States Air Force took a giant leap toward modernizing its tactical fleet of fighters with the induction of the F-15EX Eagle II. Officially accepted by Boeing on 10 March 2021 at their facility in St. Louis, the F-15EX brings a leap in capability and technology to the Air Force.
The F-15EX is a two-seat, single-pilot, fly-by-wire aircraft with advanced avionics and digital cockpit displays. Other advanced systems include the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System, an electronic warfare upgrade already being fielded on F-15E Strike Eagle models. Its large weapons capacity, digital backbone, and open architecture make it a key component of the tactical fighter fleet and complement fifth-generation assets,” said Col. Sean Dorey, F-15EX program manager with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate. The ability to carry hypersonic weapons further underscores its potential in conflicts against near-peer adversaries in the future.
The Air Force will purchase 144 F-15EXs to replace the aging F-15C/D fleet, which is over 37 years old on average, truly reaching the end of their operational life. The F-15EX provides an affordable, quick way to refresh the fleet, enabling the achievement of National Defense Strategy capability and capacity needs into the 2040s. The acquisition began in February 2019 when the then-Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, signed the F-15EX Rapid Fielding Requirement Document to help fix readiness problems with an aging fleet of F-15s.
The first F-15EX will test at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with a second aircraft planned by the end of April 2021. The remaining six Lot 1 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in FY23 for operational testing. To quicken readiness, the team will draw on existing testing data from F-15 foreign military sales variants, along with U.S.-only subsystems and Operational Flight Program software.
The latest variant of the F-15EX is now dubbed the Eagle II. What this jet brings to the table is increased computing power, better maneuverability, and a much heavier weapons load. Raytheon Technologies has equipped the aircraft with precision munitions, sensors, and avionics. Paul Ferraro, vice president of Air Power for Raytheon, highlighted what advanced capabilities the Eagle II brings to the air dominance mission.
The Eagle II is armed with the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, the AMRAAM missile, and the Stormbreaker smart weapon, each one allowing for some sort of special capability associated with different combat. The radar, the APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array, can detect, identify, and track multiple air and surface targets simultaneously at greater distances.
Pratt & Whitney, another Raytheon Technologies business, has provided its F100-PW-229 engine to power future lots of the F-15EX, extending their legacy of powering the Air Force’s F-15 fleet.
The first operational F-15EX is expected to be delivered to the Oregon Air National Guard in Fiscal Year 2024 and is projected to reach full operational capacity in 2025. Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson said again that the F-15EX would complement fifth-generation assets well into the future.
The delivery of the F-15EX marks a milestone in the modernization effort of the Air Force, preserving air superiority and ensuring readiness against high-end conflicts.