The Air Force last week awarded Boeing $4 billion toward the company’s ongoing activities to upgrade Saudi Arabia’s fleet of 70 F-15s to the new “SA” standard. This F-15 model includes an advanced electronically scanned array radar, among its modern features. Work under this new contract is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019, according to the description in the Pentagon’s list of major contracts for Nov. 2. This award builds upon a $1.8 billion contract awarded in June for these conversions, which fall under the larger $29.4 billion foreign military sales deal with the Saudis that also includes Boeing supplying 84 new-build F-15SAs. In March, Boeing received $11.4 billion towards its work on the new fighters.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.