In the mid-2010s, the giant aviation company Boeing accepted a challenge from the US Air
Force to take the battle-proven F-15 Eagle and make it better in every way.
The result was the F-15EX, with a strikingly similar airframe but a radically modified
inside.
Designed to engage with the most demanding threats of the future, this newest iteration
incorporates state-of-the-art technology in software development and Open Mission Systems
architecture, with features that rival even the stealthiest of aircraft.
In an industry filled with budget cuts and endless delays, the Boeing-made F-15EX is
predicted to be deployed in large numbers within the decade.
Even before hitting the front lines, the Eagle II is coming with huge expectations.
As the Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy put it, the industry must
deliver capabilities to the warfighter at: (QUOTE) “The speed of relevance.”
Challenge Accepted
The original McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle was developed in the 1970s with the intention
of providing the US Air Force with a dedicated air superiority fighter.
It eventually became one of the most successful modern fighters, scoring over 100 victories
and not a single loss in aerial combat.
The fighter also branched into multiple variants, most notably the improved F-15C single-seat
all-weather version of the early 1980s.
Later on, the design proved flexible enough to support an enhanced strike derivative,
which took the shape of the F-15E Strike Eagle and entered service in 1989.
But as the youngest of the F-15Cs turned 35 years old, the Air Force looked for other
options.
As McDonnell Douglas was incorporated into the aviation giant Boeing, the organization
took the helm and proposed the "Silent Eagle" with added stealth characteristics, and the
F-15 2040C with an increased payload and advanced avionics.
Both options would require extensive development work, but it eventually became a matter of
urgency to replace the aging F-15Cs, as the F-22 Raptor production ended and the F-35s
were delayed.
Therefore, Boeing decided to pursue a different direction and turned its attention to the
F-15QA Qatar Advanced export version.
Enter the F-15EX.
An Old Airframe With Modern Capabilities
The new model was approved in 2018 when the Air Force announced Boeing Company had won
a 23-billion-dollar contract for a program designed to fulfill an urgent requirement
for new-build fighter aircraft.
According to the agreement, this new airframe would have to be cost-effective, low-risk,
and, most importantly, would complement the F-35, not replace it.
Compared to the older F-15C/D models it is supposed to replace, the main difference of
the F-15EX is under the skin, as the aircraft's Open Mission Systems architecture will allow
for the rapid insertion of the latest aircraft technologies.
The newest variant of the Eagle will also have fly-by-wire flight controls, advanced
cockpit systems, a new electronic warfare system, infrared search and track, advanced
avionics, and a revised structure with a service life of a whopping 20,000 hours.
Boeing executives have even discussed the potential for adding artificial intelligence
to aid F-15EX crews in the near future.
Moreover, the aircraft is not a repackaging of the semi-stealthy F-15 Silent Eagle concept
that Boeing floated nearly a decade ago.
The F-15X features no low-observable enhancements of any kind.
By the summer of 2020, the US Defense Department had already placed an order for the first
batch of eight F-15EX examples over three years.
The Air Force's newest fighter then took to the skies for the first time in February of
2021, with a successful flight from St. Louis, Missouri.
It was a dramatic takeoff almost 50 years after the original F-15A prototype was first
flown.
Dead End
With a top speed of Mach 2.5, the Eagle II is the fastest fighter jet in the world.
And as Boeing announced: (QUOTE) "The F-15EX carries more weapons than any other fighter
in its class and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000
pounds."
The robust fighter has a wide assortment of possibilities, some of which are expected
to be transformative.
In fact, the aircraft can carry much larger weapons loads than 5th-generation types and
thus serve as a "weapon truck."
Likewise, it can load considerably bigger munitions, including massive hypersonic weapons
currently in development which could nonetheless be unable to fit inside a newer fighter weapons
bay.
Even so, many experts have questioned the Air Force's decision to go with the 4th-generation
model instead of pursuing more modern endeavors.
For one, Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and senior resident at Mitchell Institute
for Aerospace Studies, bluntly stated in a publication that the F-15EX is a: (QUOTE)
"Dead end."
She argues that the funding should instead go to boosting the production of F-35 jets.
While the Eagle II has a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds -11,000 pounds more than
its rival- the 5th-generation stealth fighter has a minimal radar cross-section of 3.8 millimeters;
in contrast, the F-15EX's relative size on the radar is still 42.8 feet.
Furthermore, as Penney noted, the type is not expected to survive against modern air
defenses after 2028 and will merely play a limited defensive role in air combat when
the USAF is in dire need of fighter jets.
The defense policy expert harshly expressed: (QUOTE) "Given this reality, funding limitations
and modern mission demands, the Air Force should seek the soonest reasonable termination
point for the F-15EX."
The Launch of the Eagle II
The major selling point that convinced the United States Air Force to award Boeing a
23-billion-dollar contract is simple: immediacy.
According to General Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command: (QUOTE) "The F-15EX is
the most affordable and immediate way to refresh the capacity and update the capabilities provided
by our aging F-15C/D fleet (...)The F-15EX is ready to fight as soon as it comes off
the line."
The service plans to eventually buy at least 144 of these aircraft to replace its aging
F-15C/D Eagles, and there have also been discussions about acquiring yet more to supplant the F-15E
Strike Eagle.
As such, the service can now expect to receive large amounts of the new iteration very soon.
If the scheduled rollout becomes a reality, General Holmes even mentioned that airbases
currently operating the F-15C/D could be able to transition to the new platform in a matter
of months instead of years.
In a ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in 2021, the Boeing F-15EX fighter jet was
officially named Eagle II.
The low-key event also saw the rollout of the first model.
However, before any of the new Eagle IIs arrive on the front line, the jet will have to go
through rigorous testing, with two models already available, and four more should be
handed over to the Air Force by the end of 2023.
According to the latest news on the F-15EX model, the United States Air Force recently
announced that during the initial two years of experimental testing, analysts were able
to determine that the aircraft may be more competent and less expensive to purchase and
operate than the F-35 for tasks that do not heavily rely on stealth, as fighter jets outperformed
expectations regarding the number and weight of munitions.
All in all, there are still many unanswered questions, but the F-15 Eagle II is expected
to have a bright future with the United States Air Force and beyond.
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