MOSCOW, 15 Nov — RIA Novosti, Andrei Kots. The United States has successfully tested a prototype of a deeply modernized F-15EX fighter. The event for the American defense industry is significant — the last "fifteenth" entered the army almost 20 years ago. The Pentagon is very much counting on the updated machine and assure that this program will not affect the purchase of fifth-generation aircraft. What is known about the F-15EX-in the material of RIA Novosti.
New old plane
The prototype of a new modification of the veteran fighter, adopted in 1976, took to the air in early February from an air base in Missouri. The flight lasted 90 minutes and did not cause any complaints. At the end of March, the US Air Force will receive two vehicles of this type for further testing, and the Pentagon intends to order about 200 F-15EX by 2030. Deliveries to the Air Force of serial fighters are expected from 2023. The program will cost $ 23 billion.
Upgraded USAF F-15EX fighter
Image source: © Photo : Boeing
"The successful first flight proved that the aircraft is safe and ready to join the country's air fleet," Boeing Vice President Prat Kumar told reporters. — In the F-15EX, we have implemented the latest achievements in the field of combat control systems, sensors, weapons, and on-board electronics. This is a completely new aircraft, significantly different from previous versions of the F-15."
The upgraded vehicle is a further development of the F-15E Strike Eagle two-seat fighter-bomber. It is designed to gain air superiority and strike at ground targets. It is equipped with modern on-board equipment based on the "digital highway" concept and the Open Mission Systems architecture, which allows you to easily implement advanced technologies in the design.
The aircraft will receive a powerful electronic warfare system, an improved cockpit, and a Raytheon AN/APG-82 series radar with an active phased array antenna. The new GE F110 engines provide high flight performance with an increased payload. It is known that the load capacity increased from 10.4 to 13.4 tons. It is planned that the F-15EX will take on board up to 22 guided air — to-air missiles or three-ton hypersonic missiles with a length of almost seven meters.
To outrun Hyper
The Pentagon is trying to provide sufficiently old machines with the ability to effectively destroy targets covered by modern air defense systems. The United States is developing three hypersonic air-launched missiles - the Tactical Boost Glide (TBG), Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) and Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). The series of these products will go no earlier than 2024-2025.
"The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15. The unsurpassed range, price, and best-in-class payload make this machine very attractive to the U.S. Air Force, " said Program Manager Lori Schneider. "The F-15EX carries more weapons than any other fighter of this category, including all the advanced missiles in development."
Upgraded USAF F-15EX fighter
Image source: © Photo : Boeing
The decision to produce the fourth-generation aircraft in the United States was made two years ago. The F-15s have not been delivered to the Air Force since 2001, and the lighter F-16s since 2004. The Pentagon expected to focus on the more modern and technologically advanced F-35 Lightning. But the fifth-generation stealth program is still stalling: the fighter still suffers from many "childhood diseases", and its price is constantly increasing. It turned out that it was too early to retire the veterans.
The U.S. Air Force and National Guard now have about 230 Cold War-era F-15C and F-15D fighters. Their service life will finally expire in 2030. The Pentagon has 219 more modern F-15Es, but they are also inferior in characteristics, for example, to Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers and Su-35 fighters. The first F-15EX will be given to National Guard pilots who fly only the outdated F-15C and F-15D.
"Silent Eagle"
This is not the first time the Pentagon has tried to breathe a second life into the F-15. So, at the end of the noughties, the Boeing corporation presented a prototype demonstrator of the F-15SE Silent Eagle fighter. American designers have tried to pull the outdated car to the fifth-generation aircraft. The "Silent Eagle" was supposed to become less noticeable in the air: radio-absorbing materials were widely used in the design, weapons were placed inside the fuselage, as on the F-35 and F-22, and the keels were changed.
In the modified compartments of the machine, missiles of different purposes were simultaneously placed in pairs: "air — to — ground" and "air-to-air". The fighter could carry two AIM-120 AMRAAM guided missiles, two JDAM guided bombs, or four JDAMS. Internal suspensions withstood ammunition weighing up to 450 kilograms. The aircraft was provided with a fundamentally new complex of electronic warfare, a modern digital control system.
The "Silent Eagle" was mainly prepared for export. It was believed that the price of 100 million would make it an attractive commodity. The Americans offered the fighter to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea, already familiar with the F-15. However, they preferred the more modern F-35. Therefore, the program was closed, having built only one prototype of the F-15SE.
