The F-15EX Eagle II fighter can defeat advanced aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-57 or the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters in combat, the Directorate of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) said in its 2024 annual report.
The upgraded variant of Boeing’s veteran fighter has begun to be delivered to the US Air Force (USAF), which already has eight jets in service, two of them configured for combat.
With greater weapons capacity and more capable and modern avionics, the F-15EX has been the target of criticism for its outdated concept.
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DOT&E, linked to the Pentagon, however, said that “the F-15EX is operationally effective in all its air superiority roles, including defensive and offensive counter-air against surrogate fifth-generation adversary aircraft.”
According to her, the F-15EX was able to detect and track all threats at advantageous ranges and was able to use off-board and on-board systems to identify them, in addition to launching weapons to stop them.
To achieve this result, the USAF conducted flight tests between August 2023 and January 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida, and in Nevada.
One of the approved aspects was the EPAWSS (Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System), provided by BAE Systems.
The electronic warfare system, however, was not fully evaluated because the Air Force cannot expose its capabilities in flight, as it understands that adversaries can monitor the activities.
The US Air Force intends to add 25 more fighters of this version in the Fiscal 2025 Budget, which already incorporate a new configuration (Lot 2). The plan is to have 98 fighters in addition to the conversion of a hundred older F-15s.
Unbeaten combat record
Emerging in the late 1960s as part of the F-X program, the F-15 was developed by McDonnell Douglas to replace several US Air Force fighters in the air superiority mission.
The first prototype flew in 1972 and the F-15 entered service with the USAF in 1974.
Since then, the fighter has not suffered a single defeat in all the engagements it has faced, with an undefeated service record of 104 victories.
The F-15EX variant was launched as a development of the export fighter by Boeing, incorporating upgrades. The US Air Force then decided to order it to replace the aging F-15C.
