The US Air Force officially received the first F-15EX fighter number 20-0001
however, contrary to initial prediction, this F-15EX is even more expensive than the 5th generation F-35A fighter
The F-15EX fighter is the most advanced version of the F-15 fighter line
This is also considered to be the most perfect version, since the first F-15 was born nearly 50 years ago
And it's not cheap at all, at approximately $160 million each
When the F-15A first took off in 1972, its aerodynamic appearance was nothing short of striking compared to the F-14 at the same time
At that time, the F-15 did not use a Fly-by-wire control system, or had a blended fuselage and wings design like the later F-16
Its biggest advantage was the high thrust to weight ratio
After nearly 50 years of development, the F-15 fighter line has improved its performance constantly
It retains the original aerodynamic design, even retaining the engines that are already quite outdated from the current point of view
The main innovations of the F-15 later were to upgrade avionics, increase fuel tanks and increase the number of external hard points
The F-15's combat missions have also changed, from air superiority to multi-role fighter
In 2010, Saudi Arabia spent nearly $30 billion to buy 80 new F-15SA fighters and a large number of weapons from the United States
At the same time, the country also upgraded about 70 F-15S to F-15SA standard
Boeing later acquired McDonnell Douglas
then invested in upgrading the F-15SA with a digital flight control system
Increase total weapon hard points to 15, maximum payload up to 13,275 tons
The F-15EX version is equipped with the most advanced active electronically scanned array radar
the AN/APG-82 X, which can detect targets with a cross-section of 1 square meter in the front hemisphere of 125 km
Regarding the flight control system, the F-15EX is supported with the Suite-9 software
In terms of electronic warfare, the F-15EX is equipped with an active warning system EPAWSS
integrated early warning radar and advanced electronic countermeasures
The F-15EX's cockpit is equipped with a head-up display (HUD) and large-sized integrated tactical screens
The F-15EX uses two General Electric F110-129 engines, for afterburner thrust of 130 kN each
The service ceiling has increased from 15,240 meters previously to 18,288 meters
The F-15EX fighter has extremely powerful air-to-air capabilities
With the addition of new launcher-racks called the Advanced Missile and Bomb Ejection Rack (AMBER)
the F-15EX can carry up to 22 air-to-air missiles, and the AIM-120D active radar-guided long-range missile
When performing ground attack missions, the F-15EX can use cruise missiles or glide bombs
or under-development HAWC supersonic cruise missiles, with a total payload of 13.8 tons
The F-15EX is known as the "bomb carrier"
According to the plan of the US Air Force in the 1990s, it was to replace the F-15 and F-16 with the F-22 and F-35
in order to have complete advantage over potential opponents
These two types of aircraft can keep the US Air Force on top for three to four decades
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes, the F-22 had to close the production line, and only 187 were built
The F-35 has been delayed in progress, cost increases, and numerous bugs have not been fixed
And both of these planes are too expensive
According to calculations by the US Air Force, within 15 years after purchase, the average cost per hour flight of the F-15EX is 29,000 USD
while that of the F-35A is 44,000 USD
The very low cost of flying the F-15EX is due to the F-15 family having served in the US Air Force for more than 40 years
and has completed the maintenance system and supply of spare parts
The F-15EX can still use existing infrastructure for operations, but the F-35A has to start over
In terms of features, the F-15EX has no stealth features
and is of course inferior to the F-35A when it comes to attacking areas with strong air defense forces
However, the F-15EX is faster and has a longer range, making it more suitable for interception missions than the F-35A
More importantly, the F-15EX is a two-seat fighter
The second operator in the back can focus on the operational mission, control the weapons and assist the pilot in the front
The forward pilot only needs to focus on the mission of flying
This is an advantage over the F-35A, which has only a single pilot
Although the F-15EX does not compete with the F-35A, it will outperform the F-35A when performing mixed missions
However, its initial price is not cheap for a 4th generation fighter with a design that is nearly 50 years old