FIGHTERS
IAF
Special
F-15EX the advanced version of the F-15 IS POWERED BY F100-PW-229
F-15EX AN EVOLVING FIGHTER As the USAF is embarked on the induction of the F-15EX, Pratt & Whitney can provide the engine for this platform that will help the service in achieving enhanced operational capability
Photographs: Boeing, Pratt & Whitney
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd) COMBAT AIRCRAFT FOR THE USAF In July this year, the United States Air Force (USAF) placed an order with the US aerospace major Boeing for the first lot of the fourth generation plus F-15EX combat jets that carries a new name of Eagle II. This order that has a prescribed ceiling in its value at $23 billion, is meant to inject fresh blood to revitalise the fleet of combat aircraft of the USAF that has been operating around 235 of the F-15 C/D for several decades and are due to be retired from service in not too distant a future. The F-15EX is a two-seat combat platform with fly-by-wire controls, a substantially more powerful mission computer, new cockpit displays, a digital backbone, and the Eagle Passive Active Warning
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Survivability System (EPAWSS) which is an electronic warfare and threat identification system. The most significant upgrade comes in the form of an open mission systems architecture that will allow the service to update the software on the F-15EX far more easily and rapidly. As per Lori Schneider, the Programme Manager of Boeing, the F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, due in large part to its digital backbone. Its unmatched range, price and best-in-class payload capacity make the F-15EX an attractive choice for the USAF. While the contract has an in-built option of the procurement of up to 200 aircraft, the USAF is currently looking at a figure of 144 at a flyaway cost of $87.7 million per aircraft.
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