The F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Might Be the U.S. Air Force’s Big Mistake

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Key Points: The F-15EX Eagle II, Boeing’s modernized version of its Cold War-era F-15, has come under scrutiny for its exorbitant $97 million per-unit cost, surpassing even the F-35’s.

-Despite upgrades, the Eagle II lacks stealth, a critical capability in modern contested airspaces, making it less competitive against advanced fifth-generation aircraft like China’s J-20 and Russia’s Su-57.

-Critics argue its role is redundant, suited only for homeland defense or low-threat regions, while more advanced systems like the F-35 handle complex missions better.

-The F-15EX’s design limitations, rooted in its outdated airframe, raise questions about its value in today’s defense landscape.

The F-15EX Eagle II: No Stealth, No Justification for Its High Cost

With the chronic cost overruns and massive production delays of America’s F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation warplane, Boeing stepped forward in a bid to undercut their rivals at Lockheed Martin (the company behind the F-35) with an augmented variant of their ubiquitous fourth-generation warplane, the F-15.

In this case, Boeing was trying to sell the Pentagon on the notion that their new F-15EX Eagle II was an important alternative to the F-35, as the F-15EX Eagle II would be cheaper and easier to mass produce (because it isn’t as technologically complex as the F-35).

As it would turn out, the sales pitch by Boeing proved to be wrong. In fact, the F-15EX Eagle II is prohibitively expensive in an era where the defense budget is increasingly unsustainable. Flyaway costs for each unit of the F-15EX Eagle II exceeds those of even the F-35.

Initial projections had the cost of each F-15EX Eagle II coming in at around $80 million. In reality, though, the cost is nearly $97 million per unit.

The thing that’s killing the F-15EX Eagle II in the eyes of many Washington insiders is that there’s not much in the new F-15 model that justifies its onerous cost.

F-15EX Eagle II Fighter: The Problems 

Specifically, the F-15EX Eagle II lacks stealth capabilities whereas the F-35 is entirely built around possessing stealth capabilities. The F-15EX Eagle II’s lack of stealth puts it at a severe disadvantage when facing the advanced warplanes of other nations, such as China’s Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon fifth-generation warplane or Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation bird.

The F-35, however, squares off much better against such enemy systems than does the expensive F-15EX Eagle II. 

The F-15EX Eagle II is highly limited when compared to the F-35. Therefore, the cost outweighs whatever benefits would be enjoyed by having these systems around in large numbers.

Think about it. This lack of stealth would relegate the pricey F-15EX Eagle II to homeland defense or less contested regions, where the enemies of America might have less access to sophisticated fifth-generation warplanes of their own or advanced anti-aircraft systems of the kind that Russia and China own.

Not Worth It 

Besides, as an augmented version of an older fourth-generation plane, there are many things the F-15EX Eagle II is designed to do that other planes in the Air Force’s arsenal can do better. It’s costly and redundant.

F-15EX Eagle II. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Those are the last things any American warplane program should be defined by.

This hasn’t stopped people like President-Elect Donald J. Trump from supposedly using the presence of the F-15EX Eagle II as a cudgel to slam Lockheed Martin with over their cost overruns and inefficiencies contributing to the delays of the F-35. 

Boeing has significantly upgraded the Eagle II to better comport with the demands of the modern battlefield. Yet, there are inherent design limitations embedded within the F-15EX Eagle II. After all, the plane is based on an airframe designed during the Cold War. 

Thus, you can only put so much lipstick on that pig—and even then it will still be considered a pig. The bird’s lack of stealth means that it cannot possibly evolve with the same agility as newer, purpose-built stealth platforms in responding to emerging threats.

F-15EX artist rendition. Image Credit: Boeing.

It’s a total waste of money and resources. 

About the Author: 

Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior Editor at 19FortyFive and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, The American Spectator, and the National Interest. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.