The leading lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee is proposing significant changes to the Air Force’s plans for its F-15 fleet, preventing the service from cutting 26 F-15E Strike Eagles and adding money for more F-15EX Eagles IIs in 2026, according to a draft ...
Lawmakers are growing impatient for an overdue fighter recapitalization study from the Air Force, and members say they'll demand more detailed justifications for future aircraft retirements.
The Air Force is moving toward Initial Operating Capability with the F-15EX, as the third and fourth examples of the fighter joined the test fleet at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The cost of the F-15EX fighter under the program's new status as a Major Defense Program is about $94 million, the Air Force announced in its Selected Acquisition Reports. Plans call for initial operational capability next year.
The first of 10 EC-37 Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft was delivered to the Air Force on Sept. 12, contractors BAE Systems and L3Harris announced. The jets will complement the current EC-130s and will be supplemented by—but not replaced by—the emerging Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) ...
The F-15EX shot one JASSM during a recent exercise, bringing to a close the first phase of its hybrid/combined initial operational and developmental test effort. New aircraft are to be delivered in the coming weeks, and a full-rate production decision is expected soon after.
The Air Force plans to cut its F-15E fleet to 99 aircraft in the coming years—cutting more than 100 Strike Eagles from the fleet. The move comes as the service seeks to modernize and bring on new platforms while still keeping enough fighters to be ...
The Air Force's “4+1” fighter plan is rapidly becoming the “4” plan as the service retires A-10s faster than it expected to, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. said March 15. The retirements are needed to pay for new systems to keep USAF ...
A contingent of F-16CM multirole fighters has arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, to help substitute for F-15C/Ds rotating stateside for eventual retirement, the Air Force reported. The service said a permanent F-15 replacement at Kadena hasn't been determined yet, but will be an aircraft ...
The F-15EX has demonstrated it can fire AIM-120 radar and AIM-9X heat-seeking missiles from new underwing stations, showing the new fighter's ability to carry and fire more missiles than its predecessor, the F-15C, the Air Force reported.
The military services are leaving capability gaps as they divest of older aircraft but aren't coordinating their tactical aviation spending plans to minimize risk, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report. While the Pentagon agrees that it needs a portfolio approach to fighter ...
These are the complete remarks by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Dec. 3, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif.