F-15EX engine competition would add 2-3 years to platform procurement

Competing the engine to the Boeing F-15EX Advanced Eagle fighter would add two-to-three years to the platform’s acquisition, according to a key US Air Force (USAF) official.

The service announced on 23 January its intent to sole source as many as 480 General Electric F110-GE-129 engines for the F-15EX. The USAF, in its announcement, said it wanted an engine already certified for installation in the platform.

The US Air Force believes competing the engine to the F-15EX would drag out the aircraft's procurement by two-to-three years. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Will Roper, USAF assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L), told a House Armed Services Committee (HASC) panel on 10 March that the service picked the GE F110-GE-129 to leverage Qatari and Saudi Arabian investments in their new F-15 platforms, the F-15QA, and the F-15SA, respectively. The USAF wants to replace its older F-15C/D aircraft with F-15EXs, as the average F-15C/D is 36 years old with more than 8,400 flight hours.

The proposed GE engine acquisition is being protested by Pratt & Whitney, which has its F100-PW-200 on the F-15C/D models. The USAF expects its first GE engine to be delivered in January 2023 and its first F-15EX airframe to be delivered in April 2024, according to service budget documents.

This article, first published 10 March 2020, is subject to a correction and has been amended.