Despite repeated delays in the production and delivery of the F-15EX, there is no consensus within the U.S. Air Force on the aircraft, and the top management of the U.S. Air National Guard, which is about to take over the aircraft, has recently spoken highly of the F-15EX, calling it a "game-changer."
On February 13, local time, the commander of the U.S. Air National Guard, Michael J. In an interview with the "War Zone" website, Lieutenant General A. Law not only praised the advantages of the F-15EX such as its ability to quickly upgrade and the ability to carry large ammunition, but also was enthusiastic about the idea of purchasing more F-15EX in addition to the 104 currently planned to be purchased.
Inspecting Lieutenant General Lowe, Air National Guard, 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland
"As an aircraft originally planned to be equipped with the National Guard, the F-15EX is both a homeland air defense platform and a power projection platform," the lieutenant general said. The F-15EX is far more combat-capable than the F-15E, and its open mission system architecture runs independently of the Combat Flight Program (OFP) computer. So we can quickly reprogram the system directly on the system without changing the OFP, enabling rapid integration of new weapons, sensors—anything you can think of—with the F-15EX." So when you think about modern warfare, it's (the F-15EX) a game-changer."
"Another big advantage is that it carries large weapons, so any long-range missile, long-range weapon – like JASSM-ER – all of these capabilities can be reflected in the F-15EX. Relying on conformal fuel tanks, it has an even longer range than the F-15C...... We are about to see in future conflicts that these long-range advantages will allow us to gain air superiority in a combat environment far across oceans."
The first 2 F-15EXs being tested at the Eglin base
That being said, even with the 24 additional aircraft purchased by the U.S. Air Force in March last year's fiscal year 2024 budget, it's doubtful that an F-15EX fleet of just 104 aircraft will be able to deliver on the capabilities described above for U.S. military commanders. Therefore, when asked by a reporter from the "War Zone" website about the possibility of purchasing more F-15EX, Lieutenant General Luo was enthusiastic about this possibility, which can be called undisguised:
"Of course I hope so. I mean, this is where we need quantity and quality, so in order to moult more fighter units and form new qualitative combat effectiveness, of course I want more (F-15) EX. ”
The "War Zone" website believes that considering the limited ceiling of the F-35 production line, the recent delays in the delivery of new versions of the aircraft, and the strong demand in the international market, the F-15EX may not only be a "smart choice", but also the "only way" to replace the old models of the US Air Force as soon as possible.
An F-15C of the California National Guard
Now, after delays, Aircraft 3 and 4 arrived at Eglin Air Force Base late last year for testing alongside the first two F-15EXs, and Aircraft 5 and 6 will also be delivered to the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland, which was officially announced in August 2020 to be the first F-15EX to be included in the aircraft (although the main mission of the two aircraft is still testing).
At present, the US military plans to replace the three F-15C/D fighter units of the National Guard with F-15EX (a total of 54 aircraft), plus the part used for testing and training, and the rest of the aircraft can be reequipped with two more squadrons. According to the Nikkei Asia interview, the two squadrons are likely to move to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa to fill the gaps left by the two F-15C/D squadrons that left in April 2023, as the previous commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Command, Admiral Wilsbach, thought.
In April 2023, Wilsbach attended the "Kadena Eagle 'Sunset' Festival".
With both the Air Force and the Air National Guard retrofitted with F-15EX, and the latter's senior officials have expressed strong interest in the F-15EX, whether the U.S. Air Force will add more F-15EX to the budget requested for fiscal year 2025, so that the total number of orders will further increase from the current 104, so as to be closer to 144 The number of planned purchases at the beginning of the birth of the F-15EX will be a very noteworthy part of this year's US military budget "drama".
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