It certainly wasn’t that from our perspective,” Sutterfield said. “We were a little surprised by the characterization originally that it was some kind of Trump project. Biden’s 2022 budget request included an additional 12 aircraft.īoeing officials said they weren’t shocked that the new administration embraced the program. The service later changed its tune and voiced support for acquiring Eagle IIs.Ĭongress approved procuring eight of the jets in 2020 and 12 in 2021. The Trump administration requested funding for the fourth-generation aircraft in the fiscal year 2020 budget even though Air Force leaders at the time preferred to focus on buying stealthy fifth-generation planes such as Lockheed Martin’s F-35A joint strike fighter. “If there’s manned-unmanned teaming going on in the U.S. “We have a weekly meeting with the Skyborg office, and they’ve asked us to prepare some … short-term demos and that kind of thing,” Sutterfield said. The Air Force is exploring the concept of robotic wingmen with its Skyborg program. “We know that we have to build that capacity for change into the platform, in ways that nobody’s thinking about even using it today,” Sutterfield said in an interview. That, combined with an open mission system architecture and digital engineering, will enable the aircraft to be upgraded more easily and quickly, Boeing officials say. The program is expected to serve as a pathfinder for the Pentagon’s DevSecOps initiative, which is aimed at developing more secure and agile software. The jet will be able to fly at Mach 2 at altitudes over 50,000 feet, according to Kevin Sutterfield, Boeing’s vice president for U.S. The new version will feature fly-by-wire flight controls, advanced cockpit systems and BAE Systems’ AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System for electronic warfare, among other capabilities.īoeing has touted the plane’s large weapons payload capacity, including the ability to carry hypersonic missiles up to 22 feet long and weighing more than 7,000 pounds. “That was arguably the one real mark on tac-air that the Trump crowd left - the return of F-15 procurement,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group. The service could purchase as many as 200 planes under the IDIQ contract, according to Boeing. The deal includes an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $22.9 billion.
Last year, the Air Force awarded Boeing $1.2 billion for Lot 1.
The F-15EX, dubbed Eagle II, is intended to replace aging F-15Cs. The aircraft is the newest and most advanced platform in Boeing’s F-15 product line, which also includes F-15C/D Eagles and F-15E Strike Eagles. However, it remains to be seen how many platforms the Air Force will ultimately buy as it modernizes its tactical aircraft inventory.
#2021 fighter jet calendar full#
Democratic President Joe Biden came into office vowing to reverse many decisions of his predecessor, but one controversial Pentagon program initiated under former Republican President Donald Trump’s watch is moving ahead at full speed - the F-15EX fighter jet.
0 kommentar(er)
