Boeing’s global strike chief Dick Banholzer said the Air Force could conceivably buy some more Boeing-built F-15E fighters. The F-15E is the best of the 4th Generation fighters, but far less capable than the 5th Generation F-22. Even so, said the Boeing official, future force structure studies could recommend acquisition of an additional 50 to 100 Strike Eageles. the Air Force has purchased 236 F-15Es so far. He mentioned that there was briefly interest in using the F-15E as a platform for a standoff jammer, in light of the cold feet toward a possible B-52 SOJ but for the moment “that has all gone quiet.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.