F-15EX Eagle II

The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle.

Development

In 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) and Boeing discussed the ''F-15X'' or ''Advanced F-15'', a proposed single-seat variant based on the F-15QA to replace USAF F-15C/Ds. Improvements included the AMBER weapons rack to carry up to 22 air-to-air missiles, infrared search and track, advanced avionics and electronic warfare equipment, AESA radar, and revised structure with a service life of 20,000 hours. Single and two-seat variants were proposed, called F-15CX and F-15EX respectively, with identical capabilities. The USAF opted for the two-seat variant, which can be flown either by a single pilot or by a pilot and WSO for complex missions and, someday, controlling collaborative combat aircraft. One reason for this decision is that only two–seat F-15 models remained in production.

The USAF bought the F-15EX to maintain fleet size as F-22 production ended, the F-35 was delayed, and its F-15Cs aged. Although it is not expected to survive against modern air defenses by 2028, the F-15EX can perform homeland and airbase defense, enforce no-fly zones against limited air defenses, and deploy standoff munitions. In July 2020, the U.S. Defense Department ordered eight F-15EXs over three years for $1.2 billion. In August 2020, the USAF announced plans to replace F-15Cs in the Florida and Oregon Air National Guards with F-15EXs. The F-15EX made its maiden flight on 2 February 2021. The first F-15EX was delivered to the USAF in March 2021, and was flown to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for further testing.

On 7 April 2021, its official name ''Eagle II'' was announced. The FY2021 defense appropriations bill funded F-15EX procurement at $1.23 billion for 12 aircraft, bringing total orders to 20 aircraft. By May 2022, the USAF had ordered 144 F-15EXs. It has proposed reducing its orders to 80. The first operational F-15EXs are not to receive conformal fuel tanks. The Air Force's proposed budget for fiscal 2024 includes funds to buy 24 more F-15EXs, which would bring the planned fleet up to 104 aircraft.

Variants

;
:The F-15IA (Israel Advanced) is a variant for the Israeli Air Force based on the F-15EX. The Israel Defense Forces approved the plan to acquire 25 new-build F-15IA and upgrade 25 F-15Is to the F-15IA standard in February 2020.Egozi, Arie
"Israel Buys Stealth & Lotsa Weapons: 2nd Squadron Of F-35s & F-15s"
. Breakingdefense.com, 18 February 2020.

;
:The F-15ID is a proposed export version of the F-15EX for the Indonesian Air Force. In February 2022, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of up to 36 F-15IDs and related equipment to Indonesia worth around $13.9 billion.

Operators

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* United States Air Force

Specifications (F-15EX)

Data from Air and Space Forces Magazine

General Characteristics

*Crew: 2 (pilot and weapon systems officer)
*Length: 63 ft 9.6 in (19.446 m)
*Wingspan: 42 ft 9.6 in (13.045 m)
*Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
*Wing area: 608 sq ft (56.5 m2)
*Airfoil: root: NACA 64A006.6; tip: NACA 64A203 95*Empty weight: 31,700 lb (14,379 kg)
*Max takeoff weight: 81,000 lb (36,741 kg)
*Powerplant: 2 × GE-F110-129 afterburning turbofan, 17,155 lbf (76.3 kN) thrust each dry, 29,500 lbf (131.2 kN) with afterburner

Performance

*Maximum speed: 1,434 kn (1,650 mph, 2,656 km/h)/Mach >2.5 at high altitude
*Combat range: 687 nmi (791 mi, 1,272 km)
*Ferry range: 2,599.97 nmi (2,992 mi, 4,815.15 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
*Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
*G limits: +9
*Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s) +
*Thrust/weight: 0.93

Armament

*Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan 6-barreled gatling cannon, 500 rounds of either M-56 or PGU-28 ammunition
*Hardpoints: 4 wing pylons with 23 total hardpoints, fuselage pylons, bomb racks on CFTs with a capacity of 29,500 lb (13,380.97 kg) of external fuel and ordnance
*Missiles:
**Air-to-air missiles:
***12× AIM-9 Sidewinder
***12× AIM-120 AMRAAM
***12× AIM-260 JATM (To be integrated)

Avionics

*Radar:
**Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar
*Targeting pods:
**LANTIRN ''or'' Lockheed Martin Sniper XR targeting pods
*Infra-red search and track:
**Lockheed Martin Legion Pod
*Countermeasures:
**BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) - combined electronic warfare/electronic countermeasures pod

See also

References

External links

F-15E USAF fact sheet


an
F-15EX Super Eagle page on Boeing.comBoeing F-15IA (Israeli Advanced) poster

F-15E.info, Strike Eagle site

{{USAF system codes

Twinjets
F-15E Strike Eagle
F-015E Strike Eagle
Delta-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2021
Fourth-generation jet fighter
Twin-tail aircraft