The US Air Force has just inducted the first F-15EX Eagle II, a next-generation fighter aircraft built by Boeing, into its inventory, marking a big milestone in modernizing its tactical fleet. The handover took place on 10 March at Boeing’s facility in St Louis, from where it will be flown to Florida for extended tests at Eglin Air Force Base.
It is an aircraft with fly-by-wire flight controls, digital cockpit displays, and advanced avionics. Of course, one of the state-of-the-art technologies aboard the F-15EX is EPAWSS’s next-generation electronic warfare upgrade that is being fitted into F-15E Strike Eagle variants. As Col. Sean Dorey, F-15EX program manager explained best, “With its large weapons capacity, digital backbone, and open architecture, the F-15EX will be a key element of our tactical fighter fleet and complement 5th-generation assets.” with improved survivability, lethality, and situational awareness against emerging threats.
The Air Force will purchase 144 F-15EXs new variant of the F-15 to replace the aging F-15C/D fleet that is nearing the end of its operational life. The F-15EX provides an affordable and expedient solution to refresh the fleet and meet National Defense Strategy requirements in the 2040s. Acquisition started in February 2019, led by Gen. David Goldfein, then-Air Force chief of staff, addressing readiness concerns of the aging F-15 fleet.
The F-15EX is also an extremely capable platform, reportedly able to employ hypersonic weapons that will prove of inestimable value in future near-peer conflicts. Its speed is outstanding: two GE F110-GE-129 engines, each developing 29,500 pounds of thrust, enable the F-15EX to reach nearly Mach 3 in a clean configuration, thus easily outpacing the so-called Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat.
But this is a top speed attained under very specific conditions, it must be noted. According to Robert “Blend’r” Novotny, Boeing’s F-15 business development director, the near Mach 3 speed was reached without external fuel tanks or weaponry, greatly reducing the drag factor. Performance in combat will be linked to the payload the aircraft carries, too, as weapons such as the Raytheon AGM-88 HARM are not qualified to be used above Mach 1.2.
Other performance metrics put F-15EX at excellent performance. Boeing’s chief test pilot Matthew “Phat” Giese exclaimed the airplane’s great acceleration and climb. According to him, EX outclimbs and out-dragged other American fighters. In his flight testing, Giese reached Mach 2.5 at 40,000 feet to showcase the aircraft’s very excellent thrust and speed.
The F-15EX program has developed and delivered at a really fast pace. Starting from the delivery of the first F110-GE-129 engine in September 2020, the first flight of the fighter jet took place in February 2021. In March 2021, the Air Force had already accepted the first F-15EX. Since then, the aircraft has gone through various tests such as acoustic testing, and demonstrations of missile carriage capability among others.
The F-15EX was designed with a digital backbone and open architecture, enabling the integration of new technologies very quickly. Advanced cockpit systems, modern sensors, and the APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array radar extend the fighter’s capability to detect, identify, and track multiple targets at longer ranges.
This decision by the Air Force signals its commitment to a robust and capable tactical fighter fleet. This advanced capability, combined with modern design, makes the F-15EX Eagle II an aircraft that will be critical to U.S. Air Force operations well into the future of the next several decades.