The U.S. Air Force has taken a giant step in modernizing its fleet of fighters with the receipt of the first tranche of state-of-the-art F-15EX Eagle II aircraft from Boeing. The aircraft was handed over officially on 10 March at the St Louis facility of the company and is sure to form a huge component of combat operations in times ahead.
The F-15EX is a two-seat, single-pilot-operational aircraft with state-of-the-art fly-by-wire flight controls, digital cockpit displays, and advanced avionics systems. Chief among its new features is the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System, or EPAWSS, an electronic warfare upgrade being fitted to the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet, too. The program manager for the F-15EX, Col. Sean Dorey, underscored the importance of the aircraft: “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.”
The Air Force will acquire 144 F-15EXs to replace the aging F-15C/D models and refresh the fleet of F-15s. The current fleet of F-15C/Ds is averaging over 37 years old, and it is close to the end of its operational life. The F-15EX will provide a cost-effective and swift solution to ensure fleet readiness and fulfill National Defense Strategy requirements well into the 2040s.
Acquisitions for the F-15EX formally began in February 2019 when then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein signed the F-15EX Rapid Fielding Requirement Document as an effort to bolster readiness within the aging F-15 fleet. The vision was brought forward by the F-15 Program Office, designing an acquisition strategy to award a contract with Boeing, manufacture the aircraft, and conduct testing, all in record time. The F-15EX with its Open Mission Systems architecture and weapons capacity will provide an outstanding capability for our nation for years to come, said Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr., commander of Air Force Materiel Command.
The new aircraft will be flown to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for testing upon acceptance. A second F-15EX is expected to arrive at Eglin AFB by the end of April 2021. The remaining six Lot 1 aircraft will arrive at Eglin AFB in fiscal year 2023 for operational testing. To accelerate readiness, the team will use previous testing data from F-15 foreign military sales variants and U.S.-only subsystems combined with Operational Flight Program software.
Aircraft in Lots 2 and 3 are on track to be delivered to the Oregon bases, Kingsley Field, and Portland Air National Guard, in FY 2024 and FY 2025, respectively. The 173rd Wing at Kingsley Field, currently the home of the F-15C/D training school, will become the F-15EX training school as well. The 142nd Wing at Portland will become the first operational unit to fly the new aircraft.
The F-15EX Eagle II is derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was introduced into service in the 1960s, and modernized with contemporary avionics, software, and open architecture to make it operationally effective against contemporary threats. No other fighter in its class can carry more weapon systems, hypersonic assets of up to 22 feet in length, and weighing 7,000 pounds than the F-15EX, according to Boeing.
EX3 and EX4 are the two newest models of the F-15EX fleet, fitted with improved warning systems, ultra-high frequency satellite communications antennas, and cockpit pressure monitors. The integrated test approach brings together developmental and operational tests in such a way that the field narrows future capabilities to the warfighter faster, ensuring deterrence and readiness against high-end conflict, said Brigadier General Jeffrey Geraghty, commander of the 96th Test Wing.
The F-15EX program has reached several milestones, including the successful firing test of its air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions in September and, in January, a live-fire test of its AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles. “The F-15EX has met every challenge we’ve thrown at it to date and the platform is on the cusp of being ready for the warfighter.” Lt. Col. Christopher Wee, Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force Commander, said with confidence in the platform.
The F-15EX is the newest member of the F-15 Eagle Mission Design Series, providing for affordability, speed, range, and heavy-weapons payload capacity. The F-15EX will provide critical support to F-35 aircraft, delivering firepower to neutralize threats that are detected during combat operations. State-of-the-art systems and open mission architecture ensure the relevance of this platform for decades to come, a force multiplier in the U.S. Air Force’s tactical fleet.