A new report reveals details on the F-15X, Boeing’s latest version of the world famous F-15 Eagle fighter jet.
The F-15X will be packed with weaponry, more than any dedicated stealth fighter. The new jet will also have an astoundingly long lifespan, and be considerably cheaper to fly during than other fighters.
The War Zone has details on the F-15X, whose existence was revealed a week ago. For one thing, the F-15X does not carry more than two dozen air-to-air missiles as originally reported. It carries “just” 22 missiles thanks to Boeing’s new AMBER missile racks. Still, this level of armament would enable the F-15 to act as a missile carrier for stealth fighters such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, carrying many more missiles than either newer jet could.
In a mixed air-to-air and air-to-ground role, the War Zone says, the F-15, “could fly with eight air-to-air missiles and 28 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs), or up to seven 2,000-lb. bombs and eight air-to-air missiles.” That’s a weapon load far greater that what earlier F-15s and existing stealth jets can carry, since they must fit their meager payloads inside internal weapons bays.
The F-15X is also set to be affordable, coming in at “well below” the $95 million cost of the F-35A. The newest Eagle would cost about $27,000 per hour to fly—again, well below the $45,000 an hour to fly the F-35A. Finally, Boeing claims that the F-15X will have a whopping 20,000-hour service life, enabling it to serve for decades. By comparison, the original F-15 was built to serve only 5,000 hours .
The F-15X is a fully modernized jet, with a flatscreen glass cockpit, Joint Helmet Mounting Cueing System II helmet targeting system, APG-82 active electronically scanned array radar, the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) electronic warfare and electronic surveillance system, and Legion targeting pod.
It’s important to note that the F-15X would supplement, not replace, the F-22, F-35, or any future stealth jets. It would act as a glorified missileer, launching missiles on cue from its stealthier cousins. While the Air Force had previously sworn off non-stealthy jets, the price of stealth aircraft, and the cost to keep them flying, is proving exorbitant. A mix of stealthy and non-stealthy jets, working as a team, could prove a cost-effective way to grow the service’s fleet of modern combat aircraft.
Read more at The War Zone.
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
