Summary of Here Comes the New F-15EX Fighter (New Weapons and More)

00:00:00 - 00:05:00

The video discusses the U.S Air Force's plans to replace its aging F-15C and F-15E strike Eagles with the new F-15EX fighter jets. The report sets out the Air Force's reasoning for awarding a sole source contract to Boeing for the F-15EX fighters. The first production standard F-15E Strike Eagle made its Maiden flight on December 11, 1986. The current F-15E Fleet features two different engine classes, the older jets featuring a Pratt and Whitney F-100PW220E engine with around 23,500 pounds of thrust, and the younger models featuring the P100PW229 engine with around 29,000 pounds of thrust. Switching to more F-15EXs would be hugely significant and would replace the current F-15E fleet without impacting the F-35 Lightning II program.

• 00:00:00 This video discusses the U.S Air Force's plans to replace its aging F-15C and F-15E strike Eagles with the new F-15EX fighter jets. The report sets out the Air Force's reasoning for awarding a sole source contract to Boeing for the F-15EX fighters. The first production standard F-15E Strike Eagle made its Maiden flight on December 11, 1986. The current F-15E Fleet features two different engine classes, the older jets featuring a Pratt and Whitney F-100PW220E engine with around 23,500 pounds of thrust, and the younger models featuring the P100PW229 engine with around 29,000 pounds of thrust. Switching to more F-15EXs would be hugely significant and would replace the current F-15E fleet without impacting the F-35 Lightning II program.
• 00:05:00 The video discusses the Urgent replacement of the F-15 CD fleet with the F-15EX. Reasons for this replacement include safety concerns, the schedule impact if there is no refresh, and the fleet's structural integrity degrading rapidly. The Urgent replacement is estimated to cost three billion dollars less than replacing the fleet with F-35s. It is expected that transitioning from the F-15 CD to the F-15EX will take six months or less. The F-15EX would equip squadrons whose only missions have been air-to-air combat and air sovereignty. The F-15EE community, which is tasked with some of the most complex combat operations abroad, would be flying aging partially upgraded jets while the guard has brand new F-15EXs with excess capabilities. This has raised the question of why doesn't the F-15E get replaced with the F-15EX.