Trump's F-15EX Legacy Lives On in Biden Administration.

• Author: Harper, Jon

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. However, it remains to be seen how many platforms the Air Force will ultimately buy as it modernizes its tactical aircraft inventory.

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. The F-15EX, dubbed Eagle II, is intended to replace aging F-15Cs.

Last year, the Air Force awarded Boeing $1.2 billion for Lot 1. The deal includes an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $22.9 billion. The service could purchase as many as 200 planes under the IDIQ contract, according to Boeing.

"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 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.

Boeing 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.

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. Air Force fighter programs.

The program is expected to serve as a pathfinder for the Pentagon's DevSec-Ops initiative, which is aimed at developing more secure and agile software. 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.

"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.

The Air Force is exploring the concept of robotic wingmen with its Skyborg program.

"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. "If there's manned-unmanned teaming going on in the U.S. Air Force, F-15EX will be a part of it."

The Trump administration requested funding for the fourth-generation aircraft in...