F-15 Eagle Thread

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EPAWSS upgrade for the F-15C back in the plan.

Several ongoing modifications to other F-15 aircraft subsystems need to be accomplished before EPAWSS can be successfully installed on the aircraft. According to EPAWSS program officials, these predecessor modifications are on schedule to support EPAWSS. In addition, the Air Force now plans to procure EPAWSS for both the F-15C and F-15E after reporting last year that only the F-15E would be upgraded. As a result, the program increased its current cost estimate over the past year, but it is now in keeping with the first full estimate, which included both F-15 models.

(Source : GAO May 2019 Page 148 Weapons System Annual Assessment)
 
Apr 23, 2019
anyway
Boeing prepares St. Louis plant for likely Air Force F-15 orders
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now
House lawmakers have a list of demands before funding the F-15EX
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The U.S. Air Force may be unable to buy the
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it plans to purchase in fiscal 2020 unless it submits
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, according to provisions in proposed legislation.

A draft version of the House Armed Services Committee’s defense authorization bill would permit the Air Force to procure
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. HASC staffers who spoke with reporters Monday would not confirm whether the committee had authorized the purchase of all eight fighter jets requested by the service.

However, the bill proposal states that the remaining FY20 funding for the program will only be obligated after the Air Force submits details such as:
  • The program acquisition strategy.
  • A cost and schedule baseline for the program.
  • A test and evaluation master plan.
  • A life cycle sustainment plan.
  • A post-production fielding strategy.
HASC follows its Senate counterpart and the House Appropriations Committee in releasing its defense budget proposal, and its approach on the F-15EX differs from both committees, which recommended full funding to purchase eight jets made by Boeing.

However, the limitations on the F-15EX are not set in stone. The House and Senate still must pass their respective versions of the defense authorization bill, and once that happens, lawmakers from both chambers will have to compromise on a final version of the legislation — which may not include this language.

Even if kept in, HASC’s provisions indicate some support for buying new F-15EX planes, and thus do not pose an existential threat to the program.

Air Force leaders have made clear that buying more F-15s is a budget-conscious choice that allows the service to replace existing "C" and "D" models that are reaching the end of their service lives.

One of the benefits to this approach, said Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Holmes, is that Air National Guard squadrons that get the F-15EX won’t have to go through a lengthy retraining period for pilots and maintainers to learn a completely new airframe.

“There’s more to think about than just the acquisition cost. There’s the cost to operate the airplane over time. There’s the cost to transition at the installations where the airplanes are — does it require new military construction, does it require extensive retraining of the people, and then how long does it take?” Holmes
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. “We’re pretty confident to say that we can go cheaper getting 72 airplanes with a mix of fifth- and fourth-[generation aircraft] than we did if we did all fifth gen.”
 
23 minutes ago
Apr 23, 2019
now
House lawmakers have a list of demands before funding the F-15EX
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related:
HASC Grants Lukewarm Approval for F-15EX
6/3/2019
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House defense authorizers this week endorsed the Air Force’s decision to buy Boeing’s
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—but with a catch. A House Armed Services subcommittee suggests buying just two of eight airplanes in the Air Force request until the service details its development, acquisition, and fielding plans.

HASC staff told reporters on June 3 they won’t approve further purchases until the Air Force submits the acquisition strategy and support information that typically accompanies major procurement programs.

"This section would require the Secretary of Defense to designate the F-15EX program as a major subprogram and subject it to relevant reporting requirements and criteria pertinent to a major subprogram," HASC's tactical air and land forces subcommittee said in its mark, released June 3.

The legislation, heading to markup June 4, funds two of the
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for prototype development but bars further purchases until at least 30 days after the Air Force Secretary submits its development, acquisition, and fielding plans to Congress. More information will be provided when the committee publishes its funding tables.

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$1.1 billion for eight F-15EX aircraft and initial startup costs in its fiscal 2020 budget request. But details about exactly what version of the plane the Air Force would buy remain murky, pending negotiations with Boeing. House authorizers want a clearer picture before they commit to spending the full amount.

But members of the House Appropriations Committee came through with almost the full request, approving nearly
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for eight F-15EXs in the House Appropriations Committee’s defense spending bill. The Senate Armed Services Committee also funded all eight aircraft, but provided $948 million for the purchase—$162 million below the administration’s request, “reflecting excess nonrecurring costs.”
 

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Major
Congressional approval to proceed with purchase of two F-15 EX prototypes with caveats on rest of the funding.

Lawmakers backed the Air Force’s plan to begin buying the F-15EX fighter jet from Boeing but want to restrict funding until the service provides more information about the model.

The service wants the Strike Eagle variant to replace older F-15Cs that are running out of flight time, and says the fourth-generation jet would complement newer models like the F-35. The Pentagon’s cost and program evaluation office floated, and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis endorsed, the idea of adding the EX variant to the Air Force’s inventory.

Opponents argue the service should funnel that money into the F-35 program instead, and lawmakers raised concerns about the lack of information provided when the Air Force asked for the jets in its most recent budget request.

In the bipartisan, bicameral agreement on fiscal 2020 defense policy released Dec. 9, congressional authorizers said they want the Air Force to use rapid acquisition rules typically meant to bring prototypes to the field faster than regular procurement allows. The language allows for two initial batches of aircraft and to get a head start on buying materials for future lots.

The joint language requires the military to submit a “comprehensive report” with information on par with that of a major subprogram, but not the formal acquisition documents that could slow the program.

“The conferees expect the Secretary of the Air Force to maintain information transparency with the congressional defense committees, and to sufficiently and promptly keep the congressional defense committees apprised of issues particularly associated with the planning, cost, schedule, execution, fielding, or risk related to the F-15EX program,” lawmakers said in legislative documents accompanying the bill.

The Air Force requested an eight-jet buy for $1.05 billion, but lawmakers pulled $64.5 million they didn’t feel was needed for certain engineering work and instead authorized $985.5 million for eight aircraft.

However, the Air Force can’t use that 2020 money for anything other than two prototype jets until 15 days after Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett sends Congress a report on the F-15EX program. She must outline the program’s acquisition, logistics, and fielding strategies, the cost and schedule for buying the jets, and how the service will test them. USAF can use the remaining money to research, develop, and buy parts for the six other fighters in the eight-piece purchase.

Air Force Magazine
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the F-15EX could carry “outsize” munitions like hypersonic missiles, and could serve as a possible standoff weapons magazine alongside other platforms.

Work on the F-15EX
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until a fiscal 2020 spending bill is signed into law.

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