The fourth-generation F-15EX Advanced Eagle fighter, which is called an analog of the Russian Su-57, took off for the first time. The corresponding video was published on the Twitter account of the Boeing company.
In the message of the corporation, it is noted that the first two such aircraft will soon be delivered to the US Air Force. The fighter will be the most advanced version of the F-15 Eagle.
The company's press release notes that the F-15EX Advanced Eagle spent an hour and a half in the air. The fighter jet took off and landed at St. Louis Lambert Airport. During the test flight, the main systems of the aircraft, in particular, avionics and software, were tested. The tests carried out at Boeing were considered successful.
The F-15EX Advanced Eagle received, in particular, an electro-remote control system, a digital cockpit, an active phased array radar (AFAR) and a modern electronic warfare system (EW). Boeing is confident that the aircraft "can serve as a test bed for the introduction of future technologies, which is a key opportunity for the Air Force."
In January, Major Theodore Ellis of the 53rd Wing of the United States Air Force said The Drive reports that in May, the US military will deliver the F-15EX Advanced Eagle to Alaska, with which it is planned to conduct operational tests. The officer added that the aircraft is designed to meet the challenges "in the most complex scenarios of the Indo-Pacific Theater of operations."
In July 2020, the publication of the Chinese portal Global Times called the fifth-generation fighters [...] the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, as well as the Chinese J-20, but not the Russian Su-57.
In February of the same year, at the Air Warfare Symposium 2020 event in Orlando, Florida, Boeing showed a mock-up of the F-15EX Advanced Eagle with a Multi-Purpose Booster suspended cargo, which is likely to turn out to be a hypersonic missile or anti-satellite weapon.
Ivan Potapov
