By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

The F-15EX Saga

Tensions remain high between the Biden administration and the Israeli government over the latter's conduct in the ongoing war in Gaza, yet this week it has been reported that President Joe Biden is close to approving the sale of as many as fifty American-made F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets to Israel, along with kits to upgrade the Israeli Air Force's F-15Is now in service. The deal is expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to CNN, and would be the largest U.S. foreign sale to its close Middle Eastern ally since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

The administration is also expected to notify Congress that it will approve a large new sale of precision-guided munition kits to Israel. This serves to highlight that Washington supports the Israeli military, even as some in the Biden administration have been highly critical of Israel's operations in Gaza.

The sale is likely to be hotly debated in Congress, notably by some high-profile members of the president's own party. Weapons sales to Israel have come under intense scrutiny, and some Democratic lawmakers have called for restricting military aid to the Middle Eastern nation until it allows more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

 

F-15EX Eagle II: Good News For Boeing

The pending announcement would be seen as good news for Boeing, especially as the U.S. Air Force (IAF) announced it was slashing its planned buys of the F-15EX amid constraints imposed by congressionally mandated budget caps, while the air service was also cutting its planned procurement of the Boeing-made T-7A training aircraft by in half for the coming fiscal year.

According to the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, the Air Force requested six fewer F-15EX Eagle II fighters, along with six fewer Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs.

 

Israel Wants The F-15EX

As previously reported, the Israeli Ministry of Defense officially requested twenty-five F-15EX fighters from the United States more than a year ago, while an official Letter of Request (LOR) was sent last fall.

Israel has long operated the F-15 Eagle, which is among the most successful modern fighters, with more than 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat—and the majority of its kills made by pilots of the IAF. The Middle Eastern nation also adopted the F-15I Ra'am ("Thunder"), a variation of the F-15E Strike Eagle with different avionic systems to meet Israeli requirements.

The F-15EX is essentially a twenty-first-century evolution of the proven F-15E. It is an all-weather multirole strike fighter that can be employed in a ground-attack role as well as air superiority.

According to Boeing, "The F-15EX is a ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class payload, range and speed. Designed to deliver value to the U.S. Air Force, the F-15EX will be the backbone fighter for the service—not just today, but for the next several decades."

It could soon be in service with the IAF.

While there remains a possibility that there could be a hold-up from U.S. lawmakers, the only way the deal could be blocked entirely would be via a joint resolution of disapproval. Congress has never successfully blocked a proposed arms sale through such a resolution, so it now appears it is simply a matter of when—not if—Israel will be an operator of the F-15EX Eagle II.

 

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