According to a report from Breaking Defense, the Israeli Ministry of Defense has put in a formal request to acquire twenty-five Boeing F-15EX Eagle II fighters, while the order could even be doubled.
An official Letter of Request (LOR) was sent from the Israeli government to Washington last week.
Such letters are the first step in the United States Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Foreign Military Sale process, after which details on the numbers and pricing are then negotiated.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has operated the F-15 Eagle, originally produced by McDonnell Douglass before the firm’s merger with aerospace giant Boeing, since 1977. The IAF has a reported eighty-four F-15A/B/C/D/I variants in service as of last year. The twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft is among the most successful modern fighters, and has more than 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat to date.
The majority of the airframe’s kills were by the IAF, so it makes perfect sense that Jerusalem would seek to operate the updated F-15EX Eagle II, which is now undergoing testing with the United States Air Force.
In 2020, the Israeli government had sought to acquire additional F-15s, along with additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting IIs. The IAF became the first foreign operator of the fifth-generation stealth fighter, and is the sole operator of the F-35I “Adir,” an Israeli-specific variant that features an indigenous electronic warfare system (EWS) on top of the U.S. systems.
However, a deal for additional F-15s never materialized.
A Major Air Power
Israel does not reveal the size of its fleet of military aircraft, but it is reported to be around 600 aircraft – including fighter jets, transport aircraft, and helicopters. Because of recent budget cuts and the need to retire some of its older aircraft, the fleet has been downsizing in recent years.
That has included the F-16A/B “Netz” (Hawk), which Jerusalem began to retire in late 2016 after the aircraft had been in service for nearly 36 years. Some of those old aircraft were actually sold back to the United States, while others were sold to Canada. Those retired Fighting Falcons were to be used as training planes.
The retired F-16s were replaced by the F-35, of which Israel now has three squadrons.
But as The Jerusalem Post warned last summer, more combat aircraft are in line to be retired in the very near future, and if new planes are not ordered, the IAF could continue to shrink in size. Given the threats Israel faces in the Middle East – including from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons – the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) needs to retain aerial superiority.
That means having the largest, strongest, and most advanced air force in the Middle East. The F-35 – as the world’s most advanced fighter jet – does a lot to ensure that Israel maintains its edge, but the Lightning II even in stealth mode can only carry so many weapons.
Israel and F-15EX
The F-15EX could be a good solution for the IAF. According to Boeing, the Eagle II “carries more weapons than any other fighter in its class, and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weigh up to 7,000 pounds.”
As Breaking Defense also reported, the IAF could be on track to acquire 25 F-15EX fighters, while it could upgrade an equal number of its F-15I variants to the same avionic configuration, with the exception of the fly-by-wire system.
The F-15s and F-35s could serve well together in a conflict for the IAF.
The F-35 in stealth mode could strike hard, and neutralize an adversary’s air defense system while the F-15s come in “loaded for bear” and could immobilize an enemy. The need for these two aircraft can’t be understated as Tehran is inching closer to acquiring the Russian-made S-400 “Triumf” air defense system.
To take out the best, Israel will need the best. And that could be a combination of the F-35 and F-15EX.
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Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
