“The U.S. Air Force should abandon the F-15EX unless it purchases significantly more than the planned 80 aircraft, which is an unfair reduction from the 144 fighters it once wanted to buy,” writes Tyler Rogoway, author of The Drive.
According to him, owning a small fleet of unique aircraft is much more expensive than a fleet of the same number of more widely used models. Rogoway believes it doesn’t make sense to build a fleet of 80 F-15EX units.
Recall that on July 13, 2020, Boeing Corporation was awarded a framework contract worth $ 22.89 billion for the purchase of 144 F-15EX aircraft, under which such aircraft purchases will continue until at least fiscal year 2030. Then came the news that the US Air Force was planning to purchase a total of 200 F-15EX fighter jets.
Then, it seems, those plans were adjusted considerably, and this was reflected in the release of The Drive.
By 2026, the US Air Force plans to decommission 421 obsolete fighter jets and replace them with 304 new fighter jets. Savings from operating a smaller fleet of fighter jets will be channeled into the purchase of new aircraft systems such as fighter jets. Next Generation Air Domination (NGAD) and the new MR-X multirole fighter in the 2030s.
The Air Force will receive 84 new F-15EX and 220 F-35A fighters in the coming years as part of its Advanced Defense Plan (FYDP), which expires in fiscal 2026, resulting in a net reduction in its fighter fleet of 117 aircraft over five years. period of years.. The decline will be the largest since the downing of “CAF Redux”, or warplanes, in the early 2010s, when the US Air Force cut power to about 250 fighter jets.
Apparently, the post on The Drive to some extent reflects the struggle of opinion about the struggle and strength of the Air Force of the country, led by the USA, in the near future.
What is the F-15EX
To begin with, it should be noted that the Boeing F-15EX Advanced Eagle multifunctional fighter is absolutely not an analogue of the Russian Su-57. The F-15EX is considered by many experts to be the best fourth-generation fighter. And the domestic Su-57 aircraft is still positioned as a fifth-generation multifunctional fighter.
The Boeing F-15EX was created on the basis of a modification of the F-15 Advanced fighter, created for Qatar and Saudi Arabia. These are the F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) and the F-15SA (Saudi Advanced). It comes with some upgrades missing from the USAF’s aging F-15C/D fleet.
According to Colonel Sean Dory, head of the F-15EX program in the U.S. Air Force, the F-15EX’s massive amount of weaponry, “digital highway” concept and open architecture will make this aircraft an essential element. It complements the combat capabilities of the American tactical fighter squadron and fifth generation fighter.
In addition, the aircraft is capable of carrying hypersonic weapons, which gives it a niche role in future conflicts between opponents of approximately equal potential.
The latest EX version of the remarkable (without exaggeration) F-15 fighter is being delivered to the US Air Force with advanced avionics, including the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survival System, a digital cockpit, an advanced onboard computer. A multi-core ADCP-II processor (Advanced Display Core Processor) and an advanced wired flight control system from Honeywell. The new computer can process data from various onboard combat systems in several threads and display information on multifunctional displays. This increases the accuracy of aiming weapons. Also, the new system has a longer MTBF than existing single-core F-15 computers. ADCP-II is considered the fastest onboard computer in the world.
The F-15EX is also equipped with the state-of-the-art Raytheon AN/APG-82 active phased array (AFAR) radar.
The Boeing F-15EX Advanced Eagle will replace a fleet of F-15C/Ds that are averaging 37 years old and are beginning to experience what the Air Force calls “structural stresses.”
The first US Air Force F-15EX was received from Boeing in March 2021. Initial plans required the delivery of the second batch of these fighters to Air National Guard Base (ANGB) Kingsley Field in Oregon in fiscal 2024, which will also serve as a training ground for the F-15EX. The third batch is scheduled to be provisionally delivered to ANGB in Portland, Oregon in fiscal year 2025.
A similar contract marked the US Air Force’s return to the purchase of fourth-generation fighter aircraft 15 years after its supplies were cut.
The last F-15E was delivered to the US Air Force in 2001 and the last Lockheed Martin F-16 in 2005.
The F-15EX will be able to carry up to 22 air-to-air guided missiles or “hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and 7,000 pounds in weight.” The aircraft will be equipped with so-called compatible tanks. It should be noted that in January of this year, the same edition of The Drive reported that the first combat-ready F-15EX will not receive such fuel tanks, which increases the flight range, which is considered its main advantage. this type of aircraft.
Some experts see the US Air Force’s return to purchasing fourth-generation fighter jets as an expression of the failure of the F-22 and F-35, but this approach is not correct.
To date, about 700 F-35s in various versions have been purchased. Therefore, the upgraded F-15 and F / A-18 are best seen not as an alternative to the fifth generation, but as an addition to it.
In particular, the cost of the F-15EX aircraft and its spare parts is approximately 90 million dollars. At the same time, the operating and maintenance costs of the F-35 exceed the operating and maintenance costs of the fourth generation aircraft such as the F-35. F-15.
The second argument in favor of purchasing new fourth-generation aircraft is that US national defense strategy needs both low-observable tactical aircraft capable of penetrating contentious areas of airspace and high-load aircraft capable of launching weapons from afar. confrontation
It is the F-15EX that is believed to have this advantage. It can carry the largest payload of all US Air Force fighters.
On February 28, 2021, the US government authorized Boeing to submit the F-15EX fighter jet as a candidate for an endless tender for the purchase of 144 new fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
As for the obsolete fleet of US Air Force F-15C / D fighters with approximately 234 aircraft, it cannot be excluded that these aircraft (and subsequently the F-15EX) may be transferred in the foreseeable future (so far purely hypothetical). to the Ukrainian Air Force.
worth it too to remindThe distance between Moscow and, for example, Kharkov is only 647 km in a straight line. And the combat range of multifunctional fighters of the F-15EX type is more than 1500 km. So, hypothetically, missile and bomb attacks could be carried out on Russian facilities located far beyond the Volga.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.