In a debut performance in the United Kingdom, Boeing is promising ‘Raptor-like’ aerobatic routines with a pair of F-15 Advanced Eagle fighters at this month’s upcoming air displays at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Farnborough International Airshow.
Boeing will, in fact, be sending four F-15QA jets from its St Louis facility to the UK: two to conduct aerobatic displays, one to go on static display and one aircraft as a spare. They will initially fly into RAF Lakenheath, home of the US Air Forces in Europe’s F-35/F-15 fighter wing, to prepare for the flight displays at RIAT and Farnborough. After the shows have ended the four F-15QAs will be ferried on to their new home at Al Udeid Air Base by pilots of the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF).
Although the Advanced Eagle does not feature the thrust-vectoring technology of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter, Boeing will be using the flying pair of Qatar-bound F-15QA fighters – one flying ‘clean’ and one flying ‘dirty’, loaded with 12 captive air training missiles (CATMs) – to demonstrate the Advanced Eagle’s agility even when fully loaded with weapons.
Boeing test pilot Jason ‘Mongoose’ Dotter will fly the ‘clean’ display, with Kevin ‘Claw’ Tinsley on board in the weapon system officer (WSO) role, while Matt ‘Phat’ Giese will fly the ‘dirty’ demo, with Michael ‘Houdini’ Quintini as the WSO.
Despite the somewhat restricted airspace around Farnborough, the routines there and at RIAT are to be very similar, with a Boeing spokeswoman noting that “Both stay close the crowd.”
The aerobatic routines were first demonstrated at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February 2024.
Qatar ordered 36 F-15 Advanced Eagles, which became known as F-15QAs (for Qatar Advanced), under a USD 12 billion Foreign Military Sale in mid-2017.
After the first F-15QA was rolled out in St Louis on 25 August 2021, Boeing completed delivery of the original order of 36 jets for the QEAF in July 2023, but received an order from the QEAF for an additional 12 F-15QAs in October 2023, bringing the QEAF’s total future Advanced Eagle fleet to 48 aircraft.
Beyond Qatar, Boeing is pitching the Advanced Eagle to Poland, which has a requirement for 32 aircraft (two squadrons), as well as Indonesia, which has a requirement for 24 fighters.
Meanwhile, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), which operates a fleet of around 211 F-15C/S/SAs as well as 21 F-15D conversion trainers, has an ongoing requirement to replace the F-15C/Ds, which were delivered from 1982, as well as its fleet of Panavia Tornado Interdiction/Strike aircraft. The RSAF’s immediate requirement is for 48 operational fighters and six conversion trainers, although its ultimate requirement could well be for more than 100 aircraft.
At the time their deliveries were completed in December 2020, the RSAF’s fleet of 84 F-15SAs, as the first exported Advanced Eagles, were the first F-15s to incorporate the fly-by-wire system now common to all Advanced Eagles. The RSAF’s fleet of 70 older F-15S aircraft were then upgraded to a configuration broadly in line with the F-15SAs (though without fly-by-wire technology).
A Boeing spokeswoman noted to ESD on 4 July, “Boeing is committed to ensuring the KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] F-15SAs and F-15Ss remain a critical asset in the KSA’s force structure and stands ready to support our longtime and valued customers in Saudi Arabia with the most capable air superiority aircraft in production today. … The F-15EX [the US nomenclature for the Advanced Eagle] would add critical capability for the KSA air force as the country seeks to accelerate its armed forces modernisation.”
In January 2023 Israel, which already operates a fleet of 66 F-15A/C/I Eagles and 20 F-15B/D conversion trainers, officially requested to buy 25 F-15EXs and to upgrade its 25 F-15Is to a similar standard (albeit without fly-by-wire technology). US confirmation of this sale is currently held up by concerns over Israel’s handling of its war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist group.
Back in the United States, the live Advanced Eagle production line resulting from the Saudi and Qatari orders facilitated a US Air Force (USAF) purchase of the aircraft to augment the air force’s fleet of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and F-22 air superiority fighters as well as to recapitalise its fleet of ageing F-15C/Ds.
In July 2020 the US Department of Defense ordered an initial lot of eight F-15EX aircraft, which were subsequently named Eagle IIs in US service, and then in October 2020 Boeing selected Raytheon to supply its APG-82(V)1 advanced electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar for the F-15EXs.
Although the ultimate number of F-15EXs to be ordered by the USAF remains under review, Boeing told ESD on 4 July 2024 that it “has completed delivery for Lot 1, Lot 2 is in production in St Louis now, and Lots 3 and 4 are on contract, which will deliver through the 56th aircraft”.
Boeing said that negotiations “are underway now for a quantity of 24 in Lot 5 and a quantity of 18 in Lot 6, which reflects the current presidential budget”, adding that “the six aircraft reduced from Lot 6 in the FY25 budget request have been added to the Air National Guard’s unfunded priority list, which is under review by Congress”.
Although the F-15EXs are two-seat aircraft, the USAF intends to operate them on most missions with just a pilot.
Boeing announced on 2 July 2024 that the second combat-ready and final Lot 1 F-15EX, also known as (tail number 007) had headed off to its new home at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. The first F-15EX to be delivered to an operational unit, with the tail number 008, arrived in Portland on 5 June 2024.
Compared to the previous F-15C/D, the F-15 Advanced Eagle features more powerful General Electric F100-PW-229 turbofans with afterburners, each developing 29,000 lb thrust; the aforementioned digital fly-by-wire system that allows aerobatic manoeuvres previously unavailable to the F-15; an all-glass, large area display digital cockpit; an AESA radar (either the APG-63(v)3 or APG-82(v)1); and additional weapon pylons (12 instead of nine on the F-15C). The F-15EX also features USAF-only capabilities such as BAE Systems’ AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS).
The Advanced Eagle has a top speed of Mach 2.5, a ceiling of 60,000 ft, an empty weight of 14,500 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 37,000 kg. The aircraft has a combat radius of 854 nautical miles (1,582 km) with a 12 air-to-air missile loadout and a ferry range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km). However, the QEAF’s F-15QA purchases included conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) for all of its aircraft and the USAF orders have included CFT procurement with aircraft starting at Lot 5. Each pair of CFTs add a total of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of fuel per aircraft, which is estimated to almost double the aircraft’s internal fuel load: a key advantage for USAF operations over the fast Indo-Pacific region.
Regarding its armament, the Advanced Eagle features one internally mounted M61A1 20 mm six-barrel cannon (with 500 rounds); a combination of up to 12 AIM-9 Sidewinders or AIM-120 AMRAAMs, or combination of up to 24 air-to-ground munitions. Addition of CFTs does not affect the loadout.
