The US Department of Defense announced that it will proceed with the procurement of 18 additional F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft in 2025. These aircraft will be added to the eight that have been ordered, while the total requirement concerns the gradual procurement of 104 aircraft. The US Air Force has selected the F-15EX as a replacement for older versions of the F-15. The F-15EX is the latest and most advanced version of the well-known F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft, designed and developed by the American Boeing. The F-15EX is the latest in a chain of evolution of the F-15E Strike Eagle and is descended from the F-15SE (Silent Eagle), F-15-2040C (a proposed upgrade of the F-15C) and F-15 Advanced Eagle, which has been selected by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel. The F-15SE and F-15-2040C never entered production, but their technology formed the basis for the development of the F-15 Advanced Eagle and F-15X.
The reason for the selection of the F-15EX by the US Air Force is twofold. First, the termination of production of the F-22 Raptor has created the need for another air superiority aircraft in the ranks of the US Air Force so that the projected numbers of aircraft are available. On the other hand, the aging of the F-15C/D at a faster rate than the entry into service of the F-35 Lightning II will create an operational gap in the US Air Force’s force structure, especially in the 2020s. Why? Because, as US Air Force officers stated, by 2025, 230 F-15C/Ds, which entered service in 1979-1985, will have to be retired and replaced. The solution of upgrading them to the F-15-2040C level was considered, but in the end, the solution of purchasing new aircraft to replace the F-15C/Ds and upgrading the F-15E Strike Eagles, within the framework of the “The F-15 Roadmap Candidate Collection” program, prevailed.
A catalytic factor that led to the selection of the F-15EX is the aircraft’s large weapons carrying capacity (in total, the F-15X can carry 29,500 pounds of cargo, while it has an operational life of 20,000 hours). But it is not only the F-15X’s large carrying capacity. It is the flight control system that integrates the AN/APG-82(V)1 radar, the DEWS and EPAWSS systems, the new, more ergonomic cockpit with the new single wide-angle multi-data display touchscreen, the more capable JHMCS II for the two pilots, the infrared IRST system (AN/AAS Tiger Eyes) and the F100-PW-229 (Pratt & Whitney) or F110-GE-129 (General Electric) engines, which deliver approximately 30,000 pounds of thrust. The aircraft also has great flight performance (maximum range of 1,770 kilometers with three external fuel tanks, maximum operating altitude of 60,000 feet). In conclusion, the F-15EX is a modern, capable aircraft and a mature design, especially for those countries that maintain F-15s in service, while its cost is directly competitive.
