FARNBOROUGH—Boeing officials think the successor of the Boeing EA-18G Growler could be the F-15EX Eagle II.
“We are evaluating the technical feasibility of combining EA-18G-like capabilities with the F-15EX platform,” said Rob Novotny, Boeing’s executive director of business development.
The study remains in the “nascent” stage, Novotny said. But Boeing is already eyeing opportunities for NATO members, with Poland evaluating the F-15EX. And Boeing considers F-15 operators in the Indo-Pacific region as another candidate for such a Wild Weasel version of the F-15EX.
“Modern aerial combat requires command of the electromagnetic spectrum, and this platform would lead the way into the next decade or two,” Novotny said.
Boeing plans to shut down F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production in 2027. As a derivative of the Super Hornet, the closure means no additional EA-18Gs will be built, either.
The F-15EX features upgraded electronic warfare systems for self-defense, such as the BAE Systems Eagle Passive Attack Warning Survivability System.
And the Eagle II also possesses other latent capabilities, such as the ability to carry Raytheon AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs). The latter feature is a product of the fly-by-wire upgrade funded by the Royal Saudi Air Force, which allows the F-15EX to carry HARMs on outboard wing stations 1 and 9 without worrying about the impact of flutter.
Boeing also is considering other upgrades as part of the internal studies to give the F-15EX additional long-range electronic attack capabilities. These include the integration of the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range and the family of Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pods.
The EA-18G remains the U.S. military’s last fighter to be converted into a standoff-range radar jammer. The Defense Department made other attempts over the last two decades to convert different aircraft for the role, including the canceled Boeing B-52 Standoff Jamming System and abandoned concepts to equip the F-35 with internal arrays from the NGJ family of pods.
Novotny points to several design advantages of the F-15EX for the role, including the aircraft’s range, speed, computing power and payload capacity.
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