【Military Subplane】Author: Lu Zhi
In recent years, many countries have often broken some world records when exporting weapons, mainly in terms of price, for example, Europe's Typhoon and Rafale fighter jets often exceed $200 million. Recently, the United States has exposed a shocking price of arms deal news, that is, the United States will approve the sale of 50 F15 fighter jets to Israel, and the total contract will reach 18 billion US dollars, which means that the price of a single fighter jet has reached a rare 360 million US dollars, equivalent to more than 2.5 billion yuan, which is the most expensive fighter export project in history. So why is Israel buying such an extremely expensive old fighter?
▲ Image source: Internet
The number and strength of the Israeli Air Force is quite good, of which the total number of F15 fighters exceeds 90, and there are 175 F16 fighters, which are currently equipped with 39 F35s, and 36 are also on order. Israel is one of the first countries in the world to buy F15 fighter jets, but it has not purchased F15s again for more than 20 years, so no matter how much it is improved and upgraded, Israel's existing F15 can indeed hardly be called advanced. Obviously, in terms of numbers, the F16 is the biggest protagonist, and in terms of performance, the F35 with stealth capabilities is clearly the most advanced. From this point of view, the choice of F35 is nothing more than these reasons.
▲ Image source: Internet
First of all, the F15 is currently the longest-range and largest bomb-carrying fighter currently mass-produced in the entire West. It is not like China and Russia have a large number of heavy fighters based on the Su-27 design, especially the J-16 and Su-34, and even the J-15, a carrier-based twin-engine fighter, and even the newly developed J-20 is a super heavy fighter with a take-off weight of about 40 tons. The F22 in the United States is not exported, and its range is limited, and the F35 can barely be called a heavy aircraft with the weight of a light fighter because it is large enough, but there is still a certain gap between it and the real heavy aircraft. The latest improvement of the F15EX is different, the maximum take-off weight has reached 36.7 tons, the combat radius is more than 1200 kilometers, through the expansion, it can have up to 23 external attachment points, and the ultimate weight of the external fuel tank and ammunition has reached an astonishing 13.4 tons. However, this figure is slightly exaggerated, and it is only the limit weight, which is not too much reference for regular use.
▲ Image source: Internet
Second, Boeing is naturally dredging. Boeing currently has two fighters on sale, namely F15 and F18, but the current state of these two fighters is not good, although the US Air Force has purchased F15EX, but the delivery is very small, and F18 has been determined to be discontinued, it is difficult to compete in the international market Rafale and Typhoon fighters. Israel's side just needs a long-range heavy fighter, after all, Israel's relationship with Iran is well known, and it will not use the F35 and F16 to carry out long-range attack missions. So Boeing may have spotted Israel's needs and marketed it the only twin-engine heavy fighter currently available in the Western world.
▲ Image source: Internet
Thirdly, there are some design advantages of the F15 itself. The two-seater version of the F15 is ideal for maneuvering and commanding loyal wingmen or other drones, which are self-evident to modern warfare, and even rely on the F15's various complex electronics to act as air communication and command nodes. Some U.S. media even boast that the F15EX can also carry a brand-new air-launched hypersonic weapon after being improved, but these are all claims that catch the wind and catch shadows, and the U.S. media is not doing this kind of thing again, but saying that the future can be expected if they don't go back.
▲ Image source: Internet
On the eve of the election, such a large military trade with Israel will naturally cause greater international pressure, and this will naturally directly represent the attitude of the United States toward Israel's actions in Gaza. In addition, the F15 fighter itself is also a lot of problems, according to the prediction of some American media, if Israel really chooses to build a new F15 fighter based on the F15EX, then it will not be able to deliver all 50 aircraft until 2032 at the earliest, and it is conservatively estimated that it will take about 10 years, so it is impossible to play any practical role in the recent conflict. Having said that, we can't help but look forward to it, if the J-16 can also be exported, it is not an exaggeration to sell it for 250 million US dollars!
▲ Image source: Internet