In the age of stealth jet fighters, countries race to purchase the latest state-of-the-art
combat aircraft to uplift their fleet, yet many curious about why the U.S. spent trillion
dollars of its money to the allegedly ‘old’ fighter F-15EX, instead of the stealthy F-35.
If you wonder why the US takes this rather unconventional decision, you are not alone.
Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Military TV.
Today, we are going to talk about why does the US prefer the new version of F-15 rather
than the advanced F-35?
To understand about it, sit back, and stay until the end of this video.
F-35 joint strike fighter has been the centerpiece of Pentagon’s attention, at least for the
past few years.
But as they go on about weighing the pros and cons of the American 5th generation combat
aircraft, the US Air Force decided to add the 4th generation F-15EX to their aerial
fleet, prompting the inflowing critics to comprehend the logic behind spending billion
of dollars into an old workhorse in the era of advanced technology.
Now apparently, there are few reasons why the US do this.
First of all, the new F-15EX is a formidable jet with its upgraded feature from the old
original versions.
The older F-15 was already one of the most effective fighters, a backbone of Air Force
superior fleet for decades.
With some significant improvements, F-15EX reportedly has an updated cockpit, modern
data fusion capabilities, enhanced skill in electronic warfare and threat identification
system, as well as the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS).
In addition, it can carry nearly 30,000 pounds of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
Second, many of those who criticize US choice tend to compare F-15EX to the advanced F-35
Joint Strike Fighter, which is argued to be a more capable multirole platform.
and it can be said that the comparison is quite irrelevant, because they were designed
to have different jobs.
The F-35 was created to follow the footstep multirole fighter F-16 Fighting Falcon which
put more emphasis on air-to-ground in highly contested airspace.
That’s exactly why the F-35 can only carry four bombs or missiles while engaging in stealth
missions, as to maintain a tiny radar profile and avoid detection or targeting.
The F-15, on the other hand, is built with the purpose to do battle with other fighter
aircrafts in the sky.
Hence, compared to F-35, F-22 raptor for which production has been stopped is most likely
to be seen as the next technology filling the role of F-15.
Third, and probably the most important factor in building superiority in military industry:
the issue of money.
Some people who support the US to buy more F-35 probably don’t know just how expensive
it is to operate the aircraft, even though it is a far more capable platform.
If they insist on proliferating the F-35, they might risk not be able to keep all of
them flying.
On the other hand, F-15EX is expected to have mind-blowing 20,000 hours lifespan and would
just cost about half as much as the F-35 to operate by hour.
Last but not the least, the Pentagon has put on an emphasis that both F-15EX and F-35 are
not competing with each other, as the two are intended to complement one another to
maximize the effectiveness.
So, it can be concluded that US’ choice to add more F-15EX has something to do with
increasing the power and effectivity of the fleet, contrary to solely advancing the versions
of their combat aircrafts which was expected for them to do so.
Okay, that will be all for today, if you find this video interesting, don’t forget to
like and drop you comment below.
Thank you for watching and see you in the next episode!