The F-15EX Eagle II is said to have higher advantages and lower operating costs than the F-35 Lightning II, apart from stealth characteristics, reports Fox News. After two years of experimental testing, the US Air Force (USAF) concluded that its newest F-15EX fighter jet exceeds expectations regarding weapons-carrying tonnage capability. It has now been determined that for tasks that do not require stealth, the F-15EX may be more capable and less expensive to purchase and operate than the F-35.
The Boeing F-15EX, with a maximum attack range of 2,222 kilometres, can carry up to 13.6 tons of weapons, more than any other F-15 model, and has been tested carrying and launching up to 12 air-to-air missiles, four more missiles than former F-15 aircraft.
In early 2021 the USAF received its first two F-15EX fighter bombers, which it ordered in mid-2020. The planes cost $80 million each, which is cheaper than the F-35. The USAF will receive another six units this year from Lot 1 production.
The F-15EX is designed to last up to 20,000 flight hours at the cost of $29,000/hour. According to the report, this cost is a third of the operating cost of the F-35. In other words, the operational life of each F-15EX is predicted to be 20,000 hours, compared to the F-35’s 8,000 hours, or the Air Force would need to buy three F-35As instead of just one to fly the same number of hours as an F-15EX.
The F-15EX has a new fly-by-wire (FBW) system and more advanced electronic warfare (EW) suite. The aircraft will also have a new Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) capacity.
