In the wake of news that Boeing’s F-15EX will cost more than expected, company officials say they’re hunting for ways to keep the fighter jet’s price tag down.
Three years ago, Boeing officials confidently predicted a per-plane flyaway cost of under $80 million. But they backed away from that earlier this year. When the Air Force signed a contract for Production Lots 2 through 4—a total of 48 jets—officials said the per-plane cost for jets in Lot 2 was about $90 million. Now the per-plane price is expected to be $97 million in Lot 3 and $94 million in Lot 4.
Boeing hopes that foreign militaries will place orders for the F-15EX, which could help control the cost. Indonesia has committed to buying “up to 24” of the aircraft, while company officials are working up a response to an inquiry from Poland.
The new data shows the F-15EX to cost more than the Air Force is paying for its F-35s, which were once the poster child for uncontrolled cost growth. When armored with a new electronic warfare suite, called EPAWSS, Sears said the jet would have comparable survivability to an F-35 and other stealth aircraft.
Even with EPAWSS, the F-15EX is still a fourth-generation fighter and its capabilities pale in comparison to the F-35. F-15EX proponents have said part of the program’s value is propping up the defense industrial base; Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the last two U.S. companies that build fighter jets.
The Air Force plans to buy enough F-15EXs to replace some but not all of its aging F-15C/Ds. The service initially planned to buy at least 144 F-15EXs; that target was cut to 80 in the Biden administration’s 2023 budget and partially restored to 104 in the 2024 proposal. Boeing has delivered two out of eight Lot 1B jets, and will deliver four of those this year and the last two early next year, Sears said.
