First U.S. Air Force Lot 2 F-15EX Eagle II Begins Flight Testing
The first F-15EX of the United States Air Force’s second batch of F-15EX Eagle IIs has begun flight testing.
F-15EX manufacturer Boeing announced the milestone with the March 17 release of a video of the ninth F-15EX built, EX9, taking off for a test flight, adding that it would soon receive its standard United States Air Force camouflage scheme.
The United States Air Force currently has eight F-15EXs delivered in Lot 1 of the program, with six developmental testing aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base and two operational aircraft with the 123rd Fighter Squadron of the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing. The 123rd Fighter Squadron declared its initial operational capability with the F-15EX in July 2024, operating it alongside its F-15Cs.
Boeing’s Executive Director for F-15 Business Development Robert Novotny told Simple Flying that he expects the ninth F-15EX and 11 others to be delivered to the 123rd Fighter Squadron, but he did not provide a detailed delivery schedule.
The USAF’s 2025 draft budget calls for 98 total F-15EXs, down from its initial plans for 144 of them. In addition to Air National Guard units in California and Louisiana, the Air Force also plans to station 36 of them at Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa, replacing the F-15Cs previously stationed there.
Earlier on February 21, a developmental test F-15EX commemorated the 50th anniversary of Project Streak Eagle’s eight “time-to climb” world records with an unrestricted climb from Grand Forks Air Force Base that saw it reach 50,000 feet in under a minute.
The F-15EX visited the base as part of commemorations of records set at the base, joining a B-1B Lancer representing the bomber’s speed and time to climb records, as well as a RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk of the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron, which holds an “unofficial” record of longest Global Hawk mission with a 34.8 hour long mission on May 16, 2024.