New F-15EX Jet’s First Flight Clears Path for Deliveries to U.S. Air Force

The new Boeing F-15EX fighter jet completed its first flight today, paving the way for the early delivery of the first two jets to the U.S. Air Force later this quarter.

In July, the Air Force awarded Boeing a contract to build the first lot of eight jets. Future plans call for as many as 144 aircraft.

The jet took off and landed from St. Louis Lambert International Airport, completing a 90-minute test flight before returning to the airport.

Boeing F-15 Chief Test Pilot Matt Giese checked out the multirole jet’s avionics, advanced systems and software. A test team monitoring the data collected during the flight in real time confirmed that the aircraft performed as planned.

Modern variants of the F-15 also include fly-by-wire flight controls, an all-new digital cockpit, modern AESA radar and the ADCP-II, the world's fastest mission computer. The F-15EX, the most advanced version to date, features the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System electronic warfare system to improve mission effectiveness and survivability for operators.

Read: Boeing Awarded $22.89 Billion for U.S.A.F.’s F-15EX Jet Acquisition

 The F-15EX is criticized as a step-back-in-time airplane compared to the stealthy, fifth-generation F-35 aircraft. The F-15EX will not be able to survive in highly contested airspace within 10 years, although it will have a life expectancy into the 2050s.

At a time when European rivals and Lockheed Martin have commenced working on sixth-gen aircraft, the F-15EX is seen as an expensive fighter jet that was in its prime some two decades ago. This is borne out from what Gen. Holmes has said that in 15 years or so the F-15 would still be useful for homeland defense missions or in areas where air defenses are not as severe.

The aircraft is an improvement over the F-15 C/D model in that it is a fly-by-wire, digital aircraft; has a powerful new processor; additional wing hardpoints; a new electronic warfare system; and an updated glass cockpit. It is based on the F-15QA, which Boeing is building for Qatar.

Boeing said the EX can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000 pounds, which gives it an edge over the F-35. It also described the program as a “pathfinder for the Department of Defense’s DevSecOps initiative, aimed at developing secure, flexible, and agile software.”