The Air Force received its first combat-ready F-15EX Eagle II fighter on June 5.
The Boeing-made plane was flown from the company’s factory in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was built, to the Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon.
It is the first of 18 F-15EXs to be completed at the St. Louis facility and will be assigned to the Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing in Portland, and the first of nearly 100 operational F-15EXs expected to the air force will be supplied. general.
Wing Commander Col. Michael Kosderka said in a video the Air Force posted online that it is unusual for the Air National Guard to receive a new weapons system before active-duty units. But he said the skills of the 142nd’s pilots, maintenance personnel, fuel personnel and logistics staff made the wing ideal to be the first to fly operational Eagle IIs.
“To my knowledge, this is the first time an Air National Guard base received a major weapons system prior to the active component,” Kosderka said. “It’s a super big deal.”
Major Calvin “Knife” Conner and Major Brandon “Wiggles” Wigton, of the 142nd Wing’s 123rd Fighter Squadron, flew the two-seat fighter jet to Oregon. Air National Guard Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak attended the aircraft’s departure from the St. Louis plant.
“We are here to protect the Pacific Northwest with our 24/7 alert mission,” Kosderka said. “We are also here now to get this new weapon system that will allow us to participate and survive in major combat operations.”
Boeing said the Air Force’s second operational F-15EX will fly to Portland in the coming weeks, completing the aircraft’s first production lot. Boeing had previously delivered six test F-15EXs starting in 2021.
The Air Force now plans to buy 98 F-15EXs, an updated version of the fourth-generation F-15 with advanced avionics such as fly-by-wire control and improved electronic warfare capabilities. Boeing said it is now building about three jets every two months, and plans to increase the pace to two per month from 2025. The second batch of jets will be delivered at the end of 2024.
The F-15EX will replace some F-15C and D model jets as the Air Force retires older fighters. But the Air Force’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 would buy only 18 F-15EXs, six fewer than originally expected, and would halt further purchases in subsequent years.
The House’s proposed 2025 defense policy bill would reverse the decision to limit the F-15EX line. Instead, it would add $271 million to buy another 24 F-15EXs in 2026 and keep the production line running.
Kosderka said his first impression of the aircraft was that although it looked almost identical to its predecessor, the engines were quieter than previous versions of the F-15. He said hundreds of people from around the base saw the plane arrive.
“When they opened the canopy [after landing]The cheering, the clapping, it’s incredibly exciting,” Kosderka said.
