F-15EX first flight

[+daddyairplanes]

https://theaviationist.com/2021/02/02/the-new-f-15ex-flies-for-the-first-time-ahead-of-the-first-deliveries-later-this-year/

 

[+EMCON360]

Houston The Eagle Has Wings.

[+Crusader]

 

[fallenphoenix1986]

So technically the replacement for the F-22* is an F-15... who could have called that back in the 90's? 

 

*The ones that were never built.

[+MigBuster]

An F-15QA with some USAF roundels and mid tier EW Package 

[macelena]

I can't help but feel sad at this. I'm glad the F-15 is upgraded and gets used to its full potential, but ever since the production lines were shut down, everybody and their grandma knew there weren't nearly enough Raptors

[+Gepard]

The F-22 is a fighter, the F-15E can act in air to air and air to ground role. Its a big advantage. For the most parts of the world the Eagle is enough to fight down any opponent, while the Raptor would be only an expensive overkill. Or to say it with the words of one of my professors: "You dont need the high potentials, you need the right potentials!"

[+MigBuster]

A dodgy outcome mired in dodgy politics sadly but this was the official reason: 

Quote

 

During the hearing, Reed likened the service’s reversal to other “abrupt Air Force changes of direction” on the A-10, Compass Call, U2 and Global Hawk, and asked of the F-15X: “It it a wise acquisition?”

To manage its aging fleet and fulfill its missions, the Air Force would need to buy 72 aircraft a year, Goldfein told lawmakers. Three of its four fourth-generation aircraft will last into the 2030s, but not the F-15C.

An F-15 variant was the most cost-effective means of maintaining fourth-generation jet capability, already bolstered by recent Saudi and Qatari purchases of the platform.

Amid questions from another skeptic, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Goldfein said the F-15X would have a 20,000-hour service-life expectancy — but he was adamant that would not impact the F-35.

“Ma’am, if we ever get to a point where we are trading F-15s for F-35s, that is a bad choice,” he said. “The F-15 is not an F-35, it will never be an F-35.”

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/04/04/usaf-defends-f-15x-buy-to-skeptical-inhofe-reed/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[macelena]

1 hour ago, Gepard said:

The F-22 is a fighter, the F-15E can act in air to air and air to ground role. Its a big advantage. For the most parts of the world the Eagle is enough to fight down any opponent, while the Raptor would be only an expensive overkill. Or to say it with the words of one of my professors: "You dont need the high potentials, you need the right potentials!"

I agree, i feel like F-15E squadrons instead of, say F-16s would be better if it wasn't for the cost, which is the biggest factor in basically everything. However, the F-22 is the kind of expensive thing you need to keep an edge. Also, weren't F-22s dropping JDAMs in Syria?