Boeing lands $2.38bn contract for next batch of F-15EX Eagle II fighters
Boeing Defense, Space and Security scores latest successes with F-15EX and T-7A programmes.
Boeing’s bets paid off on 29 September. As news broke that the Pentagon had signed a $20 billion contract for the US Navy’s sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter, the US Air Force (USAF) also signed for 22 more F-15EX Eagle IIs.
The Lot 7 production deal is worth $2.38 billion, according to Boeing. The manufacturer is now under contract with the USAF for full production of Lots 1 through 7, bringing the total number of F-15EX under contract to 120.
Currently, Boeing is delivering F-15EX aircraft under a Lot 3 award. It will continue to deliver this contract for the remainder of the year, aiming to increase its production rate to two aircraft per month.
“Boeing is committed to delivering this critically important aircraft to the US Air Force, which will strengthen the nation’s ability to project power and stay ahead of emerging threats around the world,” says Christina Upah, Boeing F-15 programme vice-president.
Negotiations for the latest contract have been “complex” according to the USAF. This is due to ongoing operational challenges, such as Boeing’s 2025 production slowdown and widespread inflation within the defence sector.
“Lot 7 reflects a disciplined approach to executing available resources while balancing the realities affecting defence production,” states Brigadier General Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for the USAF’s Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate. “The team remained focused on affordability, production continuity and delivering the aircraft needed to modernise the US Air Force’s fighter fleet for the threats we face today and into the future.”
Boeing also is seeing success with its T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer. Developed in collaboration with Saab, the type has been used in next-generation pilot training achieving live-virtual-constructive integration. Seven instructor pilots completed a 31-day course, marking a first for the USAF’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and Boeing.
The training exercise utilised secure data links from ground-based flight simulators to communicate with an airborne T-7A. This allowed ground instructors and the aircrew to share a real-time operating picture.
Robert Erickson executes AETC’s inaugural live-virtual-constructive capability flight between the T-7A ground-based training system and an airborne Red Hawk. Source: Boeing
As a result, students on the ground can participate as wingmen or adversaries against real aircraft, while instructors can introduce simulated threats into both cockpit displays.
“Accomplishing this capability for the first time inside AETC represents a paradigm shift in how we train and build combat-ready aircrews,” says Robert Erickson, the 12th TRS T-7A civilian simulator instructor lead. “When APT-4 took flight, we weren’t just flying another training sortie. We established a live, bi-directional data link fusing an airborne aircraft directly into our simulators and synthetic battlespace.”
The training is a key step in building the air force instructor pilot cadre, which the USAF says will go on to teach at Undergraduate Pilot Training bases in upcoming years.
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