Post by andypspotter on Feb 23, 2019 10:10:15 GMT
The Pentagon has planned to set aside $1.2 billion in the 2020 defense budget to procure new F-15X fighters, a heavily upgraded model of the twin-engine jet first introduced into U.S. service in 1976.
The U.S. Air Force will go ahead and buy brand-new F-15s even as it purchases large numbers of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Updated with the latest technology, the F-15X can carry nearly two dozen air-to-air missiles and will likely work together with stealth jets to take on fleets of enemy fighters.
The USAF will request eight F-15X fighters in its budget. The service plans to buy 80 fighters over five years. That’s enough to fit out a wing of 72 aircraft, divided into three squadrons of 24 planes each, with eight spares. That’s just the five-year projection, though, and the service may buy additional fighters beyond 2025.
The F-15X will come in two versions, a single-seat F-15CX and a twin-seat F-15EX. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, other than crew size the two jets will be identical.
The U.S. Air Force will go ahead and buy brand-new F-15s even as it purchases large numbers of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Updated with the latest technology, the F-15X can carry nearly two dozen air-to-air missiles and will likely work together with stealth jets to take on fleets of enemy fighters.
The USAF will request eight F-15X fighters in its budget. The service plans to buy 80 fighters over five years. That’s enough to fit out a wing of 72 aircraft, divided into three squadrons of 24 planes each, with eight spares. That’s just the five-year projection, though, and the service may buy additional fighters beyond 2025.
The F-15X will come in two versions, a single-seat F-15CX and a twin-seat F-15EX. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, other than crew size the two jets will be identical.