Boeing delivered a second F-15EX fighter aircraft to
the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday, earlier than the contract
requirement.
The result of a collaboration across industry, the
U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard, the F-15EX is a
ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class
payload, range and speed and an all-new digital infrastructure.
“Moving from contract award to delivery in a
matter of months enables the U.S. Air Force to get a head start on
flight testing and demonstrates our commitment to exceeding
expectations,” said Prat Kumar, Boeing vice president and F-15
program manager. “Along with state-of-the-art avionics and
survivability suite, the new F-15EX includes almost 3 miles of
high-speed digital data bus to enable open architecture, which
will keep it evolving ahead of threats for decades.”
The second F-15EX arrived at Eglin Air Force Base
to begin testing with the first EX that was delivered last month.
In July 2020, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing an
IDIQ contract for up to 200
F-15EXs to replace the undefeated but aging F-15C. The Air Force
has announced initial basing locations in Florida and Oregon.
“The 53d Wing is honored to welcome the
second-ever F-15EX, and we are extremely proud that it displays
the 'OT' tail flash,” said Col Ryan Messer, commander, 53rd Wing.
“However, that 'OT' represents more than just unit pride; it
showcases the importance of early integration of operational and
developmental test to directly fulfill the National Defense
Strategy, which proclaims that, 'success no longer goes to the
country that develops a new technology first, but rather to the
one that better integrates it and adapts its way of fighting'; a
statement we believe and live out in all of our missions.”
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