Boeing’s defence chief sees a pivotal long-term role for the new F-15EX to carry heavy weapons loadouts, with the type seeing strong international interest.
The F-15EX is being rolled out to the US Air Force (USAF), and features a range of upgrades over previous versions, such as digital fly-by-wire flight controls, new sensors, and an advanced electronic warfare (EW) capability in the form of the BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System.
“With the F-15EX we’ve taken fifth-generation sensors, avionics, weapons and integrated them into the proven Eagle platform,” says Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
“Nothing has got the same range and payload, and an amazing electronic warfare system. This allows us to do things we haven’t been able to do before on this type of platform. It is very complementary to fifth-generation fighters, and it will be the same for sixth-generation.”
Parker, speaking with FlightGlobal in Singapore, notes that the type has performed very well in testing, even against fifth-generation threats. In February, the USAF’s Directorate of Operational Test and Evaluation assessed the type as “operationally effective” in an air superiority role, even when matched against fifth-generation aircraft.
The tests demonstrated that the twin-engined fighter, which boasts a payload of 13,400kg (29,500lb), was able to track threats at long ranges, and use both on-board an off-board sensors to identify them and deploy weapons.
“We had an amazing scorecard coming through from the test community, which even talked about the F-15EX performing well against fifth-gen, which I think caught a lot of people by surprise, but didn’t surprise us,” says Parker.
“The aircraft is inherently un-stealthy, so for us it has a different mission objective. It’s really about over-sized weapons, payload, range and being complementary to a fighter force.”
Asked about international interest, Parker says Poland is a strong candidate for the type, and there is also strong interest in the Middle East.
Israel, long an operator legacy F-15s, announced in November 2024 that it had signed a $5.2 billion deal for 25 F-15EXs.
Parker indicates that there is ample time for more international sales, with F-15EX production set to run into the 2030s. The company is ramping up production in St. Louis, Missouri, with a goal of producing two monthly by 2026.
Current plans call for the USAF to obtain 98 examples, but it has previously expressed a need for as many as 144.
Parker also touched on another Boeing fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which is being upgraded to the Block III standard for both operators of the type, the US Navy (USN) and Royal Australian Air Force. Parker says the last new-build Super Hornets will be completed in 2027, with upgrade work for Block IIIs continuing into the 2030s at St. Louis and San Antonio, Texas, with USN depots also helping out.
“It’s a great partnership with the US Navy,” says Parker. “We’re taking Block IIs that should be going to the boneyard at 6,000h, re-lifing them, adding fifth-generation sensors and components, and getting them back out into the fleet. I’m really proud of how the team is working through that one, and it’s going very, very well.”
Parker draws a parallel between the F-15EX and F/A-18E/F Block III, in that both address customer requirements to deliver out-sized, highly sophisticated munitions. Few platforms can do this, he feels.
“This gets to how Boeing is thinking about all of our products,” says Parker. “What does the customer need now and in the next five to 10 years?”
