Buying Just 80 F-15EXs Makes No Sense
The Air Force should cancel the F-15EX unless it buys significantly more than the 80 planned, an unjustified cut from 144 it once wanted.
BY
TYLER ROGOWAY
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PUBLISHED MAR 8, 2023 8:17 PM
TYLER ROGOWAY
Nearly half a decade ago, The War Zone broke the story on what was then called the F-15X. The fact that the Air Force was willing to make an about-face on its 'all or nothing' 5th generation tactical fighter strategy and buy its first F-15 Eagles in two decades was stunning and, at least to many, remarkably logical. For a military branch plagued with years of puzzling and arguably totally unrealistic force structure and procurement choices, it seemed that rationality had returned — with the help of some backroom political wrangling. Regardless, with growing threats abroad, the ever-shrinking and aging USAF fighter fleet demanded relief. What is now known as the F-15EX Eagle II was meant to help give it some.
Fast forward to the present day, and what was a highly promising, low-risk procurement initiative, once presented as a cornerstone of the Air Force's future tactical aviation plans, now appears to be at a fork in the road. Instead of choosing a clear path on either side, the Air Force appears to be flailing through the thick brush in between without a real sense of direction.
The Air Force
’s newest fighter, the F-15EX Eagle II, was revealed and named during a ceremony April 7 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The aircraft will be the first Air Force aircraft to be tested and fielded from beginning to end, through combined developmental and operational tests. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)The core of the issue is the slashing of the F-15EX procurement plan from a minimum of 144 airframes to just 80. In nearly a year since this change emerged as part of the USAF's 2023 budget request process, there have been no clear answers as to why buying just 80 F-15EXs makes any sense or what that number aims to accomplish. Now, with another budget request on the horizon, it is hoped that the F-15EX's fate will be better articulated, if not sealed, one way or another.
What exactly is going on here is not clear. The F-15EX program has become something of a canvas for people to paint their own force structure hopes and fears on — a procurement Rorschach test, if you will.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/buying-just-80-f-15exs-makes-no-sense
