Jane Edwards
The U.S. Air Force has begun to update its fleet of F-15 aircraft in an effort to maintain air superiority over China’s J-10 fighter jet, keep the fleet in service through mid-2040s and support F-22, F-35 and other fifth-generation platforms, Scout Warrior reported Thursday.
Maj. Rob Leese, a spokesman for the Air Force, told the publication the service branch expects updates to the F-15C’s Active Electronically Scanned Array radar to conclude by 2021 and electronic warfare modifications by 2032.
Kris Osborn writes other modifications to the F-15 jet include the installation of the Advanced Display Core Processor, Infrared Search and Track sensor and the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System.
Mike Gibbons, vice president of the F-15 program at Boeing, told Scout Warrior that the Eagle Passive Warning Survivability System works to detect and neutralize threats through jamming, avoidance and deception techniques.
The military branch also plans to double the aircraft’s weapons payload to up to 16 weapons, install a “fly-by-wire†flight control system as well as update the pilot’s digital helmet, Osborn reports.
