First Lot 1 production F-15EX set for tests at Eglin

The USAF officially accepted the first two-seat F-15EX from the Boeing facility in St Louis on 10 March — some five weeks after the multirole fighter made its first flight (pictured).

The new aircraft will be flown to Eglin AFB in Florida for testing. A second F-15EX will be delivered to Eglin by the end of April 2021.

Eight Lot 1 production F-15EXs are initially being supplied to the USAF; the other six will be delivered to Eglin AFB in FY2023 for operational testing.

In all the USAF is buying 144 F-15EXs to replace F-15C/D models and ‘refresh the F-15 fleet’, it noted on 11 March.

Shephard Defence Insight notes that the F-15EX will be based on the Qatari twin-seat F-15QA configuration upgraded with USAF-specific capabilities, including the Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System and Suite 9.1 Operational Flight Program software.

Col Sean Dorey, F-15EX programme manager at the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, said: ‘With its large weapons capacity, digital backbone, and open architecture, the F-15EX will be a key element of our tactical fighter fleet and complement 5th-generation assets. In addition, it’s capable of carrying hypersonic weapons, giving it a niche role in future near-peer conflicts.’

Aircraft in Lots 2 and 3 are ‘on track for delivery in FY 2024 and FY 2025’ to two Air National Guard bases in Oregon, the USAF noted.

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