The F-15EX is the latest iteration of the F-15, an aircraft that has proven itself over decades of combat experience.
Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II is a significant upgrade on the iconic F-15 platform. Thanks to the integration of cutting-edge technology, the F-15EX is arguably the most capable fourth-generation fighter aircraft ever built. While the original F-15 platform debuted in the 1970s, the new EX variant leverages decades of operational experience and 21st-century engineering to create a multirole fighter that can serve as a bridge between fourth-generation and fifth-generation platforms. The F-15EX’s upgrades are designed to enhance survivability, lethality, and interoperability—ensuring that the aircraft platform remains relevant in modern, complicated conflicts.
The most significant upgrade to the F-15EX is its improved avionics suite. Boeing’s Advanced Display Core Processor II (ADCP II) is understood to be the most powerful mission computer ever installed on a fighter aircraft. The ADCP II enables high-speed data fusion and mission management, allowing the pilot to synthesize more complex combat scenarios in real-time. The ADCP II also enables integration with future systems, including autonomous platforms and network-centric architectures. In the cockpit, the ADCP II is accessible through a large area display (LAD) 10×19-inch touchscreen, giving the pilot intuitive access to sensor data, weapons systems, and battlefield information. The result is an aircraft that provides drastically enhanced situational awareness to its pilot relative to previous F-15 models.
The F-15EX also benefits from a powerful new radar system—the AN/APG-82(V)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The new AESA radar provides the F-15EX with superior range, tracking capability, and resistance to electronic jamming. The AESA also allows the aircraft to detect and track multiple targets in the air or on the ground simultaneously. In effect, the F-15EX can conduct air superiority and ground strike missions with a precision that was absent in earlier variants. Paired with the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), the F-15EX has superlative electronic warfare capabilities, including detection, jamming, and countermeasure functions—all of which can improve the aircraft’s survivability in contested airspace.
The F-15EX also boasts a significant upgrade to its weapons capacity, compared to the F-15 platform. The F-15EX can carry as many as 22 air-to-air missiles or a varied range of air-to-ground ordnance. The aircraft has the largest payload capacity of any US fighter.
Conformal fuel tanks enhance the F-15EX’s range and mission endurance without compromising aerodynamic performance, enabling the aircraft to operate at greater ranges without needing to rely on in-air refueling. The F-15EX’s improved range should be an asset when operating in expansive combat areas such as the Indo-Pacific.
The F-15EX has also seen significant structural improvements. The airframe is built to last for 20,000 flight hours, about double the longevity of older F-15 variants. Airframe improvements reduce lifecycle costs and extend the F-15EX’s longevity. And although the F-15EX is not a stealth aircraft, it was built with survivability in mind; it achieves higher survivability through speed, payload capacity, and electronic warfare capabilities.
The F-15EX is the latest iteration of the F-15, an aircraft that has proven itself over decades of combat experience. Now melded with cutting-edge systems, the F-15EX promises to be an asset for the US Air Force in prospective conflicts with near-peer adversaries.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a Senior Defense and National Security Writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
