USAF Actually Buying F-15Xs?

a reply to: glib2

The surprise was going from "we aren't interested and aren't buying them" to "the new budget contains money for 8-12".

The idea behind this is to increase capabilities, with minimal financial impact, especially to the F-35. Putting Super Hornets in the Air Force won't do that. The Air Force has no infrastructure for them, and no training on them, so they'd be starting from scratch. The Block 70, like the F-15X, would require minimal training and only a few changes to the infrastructure.

At maybe 2/3 the price of the Eagle and half the cost per hour... More savings if you amortize the acquisition cost by flight hour...

But hey, Boeing...

a reply to: Zaphod58

heh.

You're assuming its not a blatant hand out to Boeing. The Viper is a Lockheed bird and Shanahan has expressed his contempt for Lockheed already.

So.

Place my chits on the Growlers.

F-35 cut reported:

www.bloombergquint.com...

Shocked I am. Just shocked.

a reply to: anzha

And then they hit the F-35 harder than it already looks like the F-15 is, and Congress loses their # and goes off on the Air Force.

Zaph: Sound logic on infrastructure. I was just focusing on capabilities.

The budget highlights say that the 2020 budget is looking to procure F-35A fighters, as well as " improving its fleet of current fighters such as the F-15 and F-16." So now the question is, Block 70 F-16s, or V model upgrades to existing aircraft.

a reply to: Zaphod58

www.janes.com...

8 in FY2020 for $1.1 billion with an expected 144 over the next few years.

I am hoping Congress shuts this down. haha. I know.

a reply to: anzha

Well, figure out how many congressional districts are getting prime, sub, or assembly work for this project, then multiply that number by zero for your percentage chances of this being nixed by Congress...

a reply to: RadioRobert
Congress will tear up this budget anyway. Several members have already indicated say dont like it. If those are in the right district its DOA. Will see, there is still a chance.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed a complaint against Shanahan and asked the DoD IG to investigate the F-15 purchase.

www.stripes.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Boeing is claiming the fly away cost will be $80M for the F-15EX.

a reply to: anzha

It gained $15M each in the time it went from solicited to unsolicited. Hysterical. From bad to worse. It's all about keeping that line open on behalf of Boeing.

We're only a few years away from Boeing begging to build new "Silent Eagles" or retrofitting old aircraft with major modifications at $20-30M a pop. Which means you could probably ditch the structural changes and gut them, zero them out, and install all new systems for $20M -- which might actually make sense. You could slowly roll the whole fleet of ~235 C/D's PLUS the 213 Beagles through for refit for $11B or the cost of 135 new build F-15X's. Or ~320 F-15 block X rebuilds for the price of the 80 funded New builds.

If you waited another 5 -10 years, we could replace them about one for one with F-35's for the same money OR do the F-15 refit roadmap with other, more mature technology along with ADVENT derivatives for approximately the same monies.

They plan to buy 144, with 80 by 2024. I love the tap dancing going on.

The F-15EX, by contrast, is a two-seat plane. "With two seats, it will be multirole-capable and operable by one or two aircrew," according to the Air Force.

Critics in the media pointed out that the Air Force didn't actually want the new F-15s. Instead, the U.S. Defense Department's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, one of the military's many analytical organizations, convinced the office of acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan to add eight F-15EXs to the department's 2020 budget proposal.

I'm sure they really twisted his arm for that.

nationalinterest.org...

a reply to: Zaphod58

I like the plane and I think the buy makes sense. But if the guy went all Darleen Druyun on it then he should go to jail and the buy scrutinized.

a reply to: FredT

The IG has opened a formal investigation into him.

taskandpurpose.com...

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: FredT

The IG has opened a formal investigation into him.

taskandpurpose.com...

Good if he committed a crime he should do the time. This kind of procurement nonsense has gone on way way too long and we no longer have an unlimited budget to absorb this crap

a reply to: FredT
I like the plane too bit here's the rub, unless they can do a WWII type emergency build its going to take too long. By that I mean they need airframes in the line in 120 days or less from signing and that had better be, now. Second, lets stop the pork barreling bu***hit and get the price down to 40 million or less. Nothing fancy or long term, dont make the airframe go more than 10-12,000 hrs max, and make sure it only has the bells and whistles it needs now or things that it will need like loyal wingman tasking gear. And its price per hour better be at least 2/3rds or less of the F-35 or its not in the running. If it can take a new gen powerplant like AETP so be it, otherwise dont bother. Oh and it better have at least 120 airframes in USAF hands by 2022 or again dont bother. It also doesn't go without saying that it shouldn't be cannibalizing the F-35 unduly either. That is all.

a reply to: thebozeian

I have no issue with anything you said but I'm not sure it will take that long to produce. The line is still active and churning out Eagles at a decent clip and its not all that radically from the SA model.

Just hope the CAF gets them super quick. With lots of AMRAAMs and lots of thrust. Turkey feathers or not. If they don’t make a single-seat model I’ll be pretty upset.