The F-15EX Fighter Now Has a Big Advantage over the F-35.

 Now, the F-15EX, an enhanced variant of the fourth-generation fighter, is on track to be even more expensive than the F-35 program, which ranks among the most expensive in military procurement history.

The F-15EX, an enhanced variant of the fourth-generation fighter, is now on track to be even more expensive than the F-35 program, which ranks among the most expensive in military procurement history. Projections for the F-35A and the F-15EX put each plane at around $80 million. However, costs for the F-15EX are expected to reach $90 million in Lot 2 under the contract finalized between Boeing and the Pentagon on Sept. 28. Jets in the Lot 3 contract are projected to cost $97 million apiece, and $94 million in Lot 4.

The new version of the 1970s vintage fighter includes a robust electronic warfare package called the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System, or EPAWSS. The F-15EX differs from prior F-15 models in featuring digital flight controls, advanced cockpit touch displays, and state-of-the-art sensors. It boasts over three times the weapons payload capacity of the F-35.

When the contract was signed a year ago for the first lot of aircraft, the cost stood at $80.5 million. This means that costs will increase each year until the fourth lot enters production. Boeing's vice president of fighters, Mark Sears, emphasized the company's efforts to address economic challenges and maintain affordability.

Ballooning costs for the non-stealthy F-15EX could prompt increased pressure to buy F-35s instead. The F-16, which remains in production for foreign militaries, costs $63 million per copy. Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow John Venable noted concerns about paying more for something that's "markedly less" than the value of the F-35.

Boeing hopes that foreign sales of the F-15EX will spread out the costs and make procurement cheaper. The F-35’s radar cross-section is equivalent to an insect, while the F-15EX’s radar signature is over 40 feet across. F-35 Joint Program Office spokesperson Russ Goemaere stated that the cost of each F-35A in production lots 15 through 17, delivered in 2023 through 2025, is $82.5 million per plane.

Supporters of the F-15EX argue that purchasing the aircraft will help sustain the industrial base, as Lockheed Martin and Boeing are the only two companies still engaged in fighter jet production.

Initially, the Air Force intended to procure 144 F-15EXs. However, the Biden administration reduced this number to 80 in its 2024 budget proposal. Subsequently, Congress partially restored the planned acquisition to 104 in the same proposal for 2024.

Sears highlighted that out of the eight anticipated Lot 1B F-15EXs, two have already been delivered. The effectiveness of Boeing's efforts to attract new foreign customers for the F-15EX, thereby distributing the overall costs, is yet to be determined.