USAF receives second Lot 1 F-15EX
Two Lot 1 production F-15EX fighters are now at Eglin AFB for flight tests. (Photo: Boeing)
The USAF now has a pair of Lot 1 production F-15EX multirole fighters in place for flight tests.
Boeing announced on 21 April that it has delivered the second Lot 1 production F-15EX fighter aircraft to the USAF slightly ahead of schedule.
The second F-15EX arrived at Eglin AFB to begin testing with the first aircraft that the USAF accepted on 10 March. At the time, the USAF stated its expectation that the second aircraft would arrive by the end of April.
‘Moving from contract award to delivery in a matter of months enables the US Air Force to get a head start on flight testing,’ said Pratyush Kumar, Boeing VP and F-15 programme manager.
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.
The USAF is buying a total of 144 F-15EXs to replace F-15C/D models.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the F-15EX design is 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.
Kumar noted that the F-15EX includes ‘3 miles of high-speed digital data bus to enable open architecture, which will keep it evolving ahead of threats for decades’.
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