Even as the united states air force continues
to acquire the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jet, the
service will also be receiving the
latest updated version of the boeing F-15. a platform that first took flight long
before many of today's pilots were even
born.
However, the F-15EX is far more advanced
than the original F-15A that was
introduced in 1974 and entered service
two years later.
Last summer the department of the air
force announced that it has awarded a
nearly 1.2 billion dollars contract for
its first lot of eight F-15EX fighter
aircraft, which will replace the oldest F-15 C and D in the current fleet.
That purchase was approved in the fiscal
year 2020 budget and 12 additional
aircraft were requested in the FY 21
budget. Pending congressional approval over the
next five years the air force could
receive up to 200 of the 21st century
version of the cold war fighter.
The service had previously announced
plans to acquire the F-15EX as part of
the future years defense program. it is part of a long-term 23 billion
dollars program that will update the air
force's aging fleet of fighter jets
while also providing a cost competitive
alternative for lockheed martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Additionally the contract would give a
second life to the F-15 production line
in st louis mode.
The air force currently flies 235 of the F-15 C and D that were set to be
decommissioned or upgraded. while efforts have been made to keep
other aging platforms such as the B-52
and B-1 bombers updated with a series of
improvements.
However in this case it was
determined it would be cheaper and more
cost effective to send those old
warbirds to pasture and replace them
with the new F-15EX variant.
More than an F-15, externally the aircraft may resemble the
original F-15, but as boeing has sold the
proven platform to international
partners such as south korea and more
recently kuwait, it has steadily improved
the aircraft.
As a result, the united states air force
has determined that it could be a
reliable and more importantly affordable
fighter to complement the F-35.
The f-15EX is a two-seat fighter that
will feature capabilities that are
completely amazing to the air force's
version. in this matter we'll offer fly-by-wire
flight controls, new weapon stations, new
electronic warfare suite, advanced radar
and computer, conformal fuel tanks and
also a strengthened airframe.
It features a deep magazine that will
allow it to carry a load of advanced
weapons with a 28 larger payload than
the F-15E. However, the fighter will also require
only minimal transitional training and
little additional manpower from the
older versions of the F-15.
According to the air force it will
require little to no infrastructure
changes. the air force has estimated F-15EX fighter shares about 70 of parts with
the current F-15C and f-15E that they
will be replacing.
Not only are the original production
lines in st louis still in place, but the
training facilities, maintenance depots
and other infrastructure can be also be
readily shifted to f-15EX support.
The result as a fighter will be easier
to build and quicker to put into service, while it will also result in a platform
that can be maintained than an equal
number of F-35.
Boeing has also noted that the F-15EX can enable rapid technology insertion
that will ensure the platform's
relevance for decades to come. this will be accomplished via an open
mission systems architecture which can
deliver advanced battle management
systems capabilities.
This allowing the F-15EX to operate
independently while isolated, but also to
reconnect to the global cloud. The air force acknowledges that the F-15
even the advanced ex variant would
struggle to survive in airspace against
a near-peer rival armed with modern air
defenses.
It could however serve as a heavy duty
gun truck for 5th generation stealth
jets like the F-22 and F-35. As an explicitly non-stealthy platform, the F-15EX is free to carry as many
weapons as it would like to within
thirty thousand pound ordnance capacity, they easily outclass the F-35 smaller
fifteen thousand to eighteen thousand
pound weapons payload, depending on the
variant.
If equipped with the united states new
hypersonic missiles the F-15EX could
receive targeting data from stealthy
spotter planes, even launch missiles at
targets from a safe distance.
