How the F-15EX reinvented air combat... again?

The legend is back. If I told you 15 years ago that the future of the US Air Force would be the F-15, you probably wouldn't believe me and you would have unsubscribed right away. But how the tables have turned. The latest modification of the F-15 platform is set to fill in the gap of retired aircraft to protect American skies for decades to come. And in a twist might even replace the pretty much brand new F-22 Raptor. Why was it chosen and how did Boeing make one of the best 4 plus gen aircraft that just seems to keep giving, leading us to think the future of the US Air Force is actually in the past. The US Air Force has a problem. With the termination of the F-22 program some time ago, subsequent news of retirement by 2030s and insane ongoing F-35 costs, there is simply no way to tick all the boxes in the budget and maintain the US Air Force aircraft fleet long term. Another issue is the existing aging fleet of F-15C and D's and even Strike Eagles that are some 30 years old now and the US is still using them to protect its skies. The Russian Air Force started to replace their Su-27s a long time ago with the latest Su-35s and Su-30SMs, but America seems to have been caught with its pants down. They haven't started such a program themselves because the F-35 was supposed to be the jack of all trades to replace almost all aging aircraft in the combined armed forces. However, at an astronomical cost to the US taxpayer. Fortunately, there is one US airframe maker that knows a thing or two about pitching old aircraft as new, Covcov 737 Max. Boeing saw an opportunity and offered the Air Force its best aircraft, proven in combat and well known by the pilots and support crew. Now with an updated, well, everything. This new aircraft has so many amazing upgrades and features that it truly is ready to go toe to toe with the very best. And you can really do any mission with it. Well, almost any mission. You still can't put together an online business whilst flying in a fighter jet. That's a mission better for Squarespace. But hold on, don't skip this part as I'll have some sneak peeks for future videos for you. Squarespace starts with a best in class website template where you can customize every detailed design with reimagined drag and drop technology for desktop and mobile at the same time. You don't have to make two sites. You can then stretch your imagination with the fluid engine that's built in and ready to go on any new Squarespace site. But that's not all because every Squarespace website also has a built in shop to start selling right away. And you can use the campaign marketing tools to start driving business instantly. I actually use Squarespace myself www.familyexplained.shop for my online merch store. So thanks Squarespace. Just like the F-15, reinvent yourself with a Squarespace website. Get 10% off your first line of domain, go to www.squarespace.com slash found and do consider it because every single click does help the channel in a huge way. So when you need a new website, think found. To understand how we got here, let's go back a bit and see the path that the Eagle took to get During the 90s, the right modification at the right time was developed for the F-15 platform, calling it the F-15E or Strike Eagle, the multi role variant of the jet based off a two seater with added CFTs or conformal fuel tanks for extended range, new, more powerful engines and capabilities to perform ground attack missions. The F-15E was the backbone of all major operations in the US Air Force throughout the past 30 years and proved to be an invaluable asset in each one of them. But with the stealth, the stereo and fifth gen jets being developed that can shoot over the horizon without even looking at the enemy, the C and D variants made for air superiority was starting to become obsolete. So then Boeing came up with a proposal to overcome the gap between the fourth and fifth gen fighters with the F-15SE or Silent Eagle that we've already covered in another video right here on the channel, a stealth version of our favourite plane. That project was not successful, but the idea was there. Eagle had more to offer, it just wasn't the right time. By 2001, the last F-15 was delivered to the US Air Force. You might think that's the end of the tale, but the key factor is that exports of this jet kept the production line open. It had active production throughout the next two decades with many customers overseas also paying for new upgrades such as engines and avionics. So the entire airframe was constantly upgraded. With a still active line and support available, the project was ready to be resurrected. The F-15EX or Eagle II is on first glance just the Strike Eagle with a fancy new name, but if we take a look below the hood, it's much much more. It's based off the F-15E design or more precisely the latest export variant, the QA, keeping the CFTs, however the engines have been majorly overhauled with the Pratt and Whitney ones thrown out with a slightly more powerful General Electric one replacing them. This version would be based on the two seater variant, even though the National Guard wanted a single seater for their fleet, alas this request was denied because the single seater production line was closed a long long time ago. But Boeing, not wanting to lose a customer, got around this by making the flight controls so that one pilot can fly the aircraft without anyone else in the back seat. Visual changes are also the exhaust nozzles, so-called turkey feathers, on new engines and pods on top of the stabilizers that are now the same size. On the current aircraft there are also two bumps near the cockpit but these are only present because they are literally QA variants with some components that are exclusive to US aircraft. In short, these bumps are actually empty. One of the major internal upgrades compared to its predecessor is fly-by-wire system which allows for a further two hard points under the wings that were not present on previous variants because of the instability in flight that would make flying the jet almost impossible with analog controls. So thanks computers for taking on this burden. The Eagle 2 also received a now upgraded radar which combines the processor from the Super Hornets radar with a new large antenna giving our protagonist threat detection range of up to 400 kilometers. It's also been upgraded so it can both scan and jam enemy frequencies at the same time. One of the sensors present on the latest Explorant variants for Qatar and Saudi Arabia are not present on the EX at the time but might be integrated later down the line. All of this is nice and all but with a huge radar cross-section in the stealth jet era and the F-35 being just out there, what was even really the point of all this hard work? Let me explain. Waiting with a hushed breath is the new air superiority fighter that will come after the F-22 is retired called the Next Generation Fighter and it's currently being developed at the moment. But this plane will only enter service during the 2030s and will have full operational capability with serial production sometime after that into the future. We've done a video on that as well so be sure to check that out. Meanwhile there is not a single air superiority fighter left in the United States Air Force. Mind you the F-35 is an amazing jet but it's a multi-role jet made leaning towards ground attack missions like the F-16 is. And with a very small payload it's not suitable to counter heavy enemy fighters in defensive scenarios like the Russian Su-35s, Su-57s or Chinese J-16s and J-20s. The Eagle 2 however is the perfect answer to this role. With a further extended payload capacity of an insane 29,000 pounds it can be a true spam ram carrier and further carry oversized missiles and bombs that the much smaller F-35 can, such as hypersonic missiles currently in development. Also in uncontested airspace when in a ground attack configuration the F-15EX can perform various tasks much more cost effectively than an F-35. Another thing to consider is that the F-15EX will join mostly National Guard squadrons and have the task of protecting the airspace back at home. But there is yet another big factor at work here, money. Although not much cheaper than the F-35 the maintenance cost and flight hour cost is way below the F-35. To put this in perspective if the US Air Force bought F-35s instead of the F-15EXs they wouldn't be able to operate the whole fleet at the same time. One more selling point for the new Eagle is the projected lifespan of 20,000 flight hours which is absolutely insane. That would definitely put the Eagle as the longest serving military aircraft in the history of the United States Air Force. Currently 144 airframes have been ordered with an option of 200 total but that's enough to replace the entire F-15CD fleet but there are some talks for some time now for a further 200 to be bought which would push the total number up to 400 jets. That's an insane number of F-15s. So yeah the Eagle is back and it's here to stay. Screeching into combat for decades to come and defend the skies of the U.S. of A. Thanks so much for watching today's video and don't forget to check out our new merch store that's online and I'll see you in the next video.