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An F-15EX is capable of carrying 12 AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, a 50% increase over previous models.
Boeing opened the production line for its F-15EX four years ago with a relatively close expiration date. U.S. Air Force procurement plans have fluctuated, and the latest funding is for deliveries only through the end of fiscal 2028.
Now a path is unfolding that could extend production of the twin-engine fighter well into the 2030s, increasing the potential for a seventh decade of deliveries and expanding opportunities for upgrades.
- Israeli deliveries could be spread out over a long period
- Congress is debating an F-15EX plus-up in 2025
So far, no orders have been confirmed following the last scheduled F-15EX delivery in September 2028, the latest budget documents show. Still, U.S. Senate appropriators have proposed adding six more F-15EXs for the U.S. Air Force in Lot 6. If the plus-up survives a conference with House appropriators, those six would extend the program of record to 104 aircraft, which wouldstill fall 40 shy of the service’s original procurement target.
With uncertain Air Force and congressional commitment to further Eagle buys, the export plans for the F-15EX also are starting to take shape. On Aug. 13, Israel became the second country cleared by the U.S. government to import F-15IA fighters, which feature large-area displays made by Elbit Systems.
In addition to blocking a takeover of the Israeli Air Force fighter fleet by Lockheed F-35Is and F-16s, a signed order from Tel Aviv could extend Boeing’s 52-year-old F-15 production line beyond September 2028. The congressional notification estimates that the first F-15IA deliveries could begin in 2029—50 years after an Israeli pilot scored the first air-to-air kill by an F-15 in a dogfight with a Syrian MiG-21.
But any Israel orders are likely to be stretched out over a decade or more. For example, Israel ordered F-35Is in two squadron-size batches of 25 aircraft starting in 2010. So far, only 39 of the 50 jets ordered to date have been delivered. The U.S. government also approved Tel Aviv’s order of a third batch of 25 F-35Is in June, but deliveries could be extended as late as 2036. Similarly, Israel’s full acquisition of 50 F-15IA fighters could take more than a decade to complete.
“Their [delivery] profile is a little unique, so not all at once,” Rob Novotny, Boeing executive director of F-15EX business development, tells Aviation Week.
The Israeli aircraft also may differ from other configurations of the F-15EX. In addition to air-to-surface munitions, the congressional notification omitted the standard BAE Systems Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability Systems from the approved equipment list. Israel generally prefers to integrate a local electronic warfare pod or suite, along with the Rafael Bnet tactical data link.
But the F-15EX orderbook could still expand. A dormant two-year-old Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case export authorization for Indonesia to buy up to 36 F-15INDs could soon be revived. President-elect Prabowo Subianto championed Indonesia’s F-15 acquisition when he was defense minister, even signing a pledge to finalize the deal a year ago during a visit to Boeing’s St. Louis production line.
Indonesia’s small defense budget—running at 0.7% of gross domestic product—might not be enough to buy F-15EXs at the same time the first deliveries begin from an order of 42 Dassault Rafales. But the country’s leadership change will spark a new push from the U.S. A few weeks after Subianto takes office on Oct. 24, Boeing plans to bring an F-15EX simulator to the Indo Defense Expo and Forum in Jakarta.
“We are having great conversations down there trying to refine the requirements,” Novotny says. “The U.S. government’s [also] getting active in this [FMS] case. So I think you’ll see some more movement, definitely, this summer and into the fall.”
Meanwhile, the F-15EX is competing for orders elsewhere against the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon. Poland plans to make a decision by the end of 2025 on additional fighters, and the F-15EX is among the candidates. Another near-term sales opportunity could come from Saudi Arabia, which created the path to the F-15EX by funding the fly-by-wire-enabled F-15SA variant a decade ago.
The Saudis “have seen the EX conversation and have asked what does that look like for them,” Novotny says. “And so we’re having those ongoing conversations for a couple of squadrons, potentially. . . . I still think we are the best offering based on our long, long history [with Saudi Arabia].”
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