Air Force to get F-15E jet with fresh electronic warfare tech in summer

The U.S. Air Drive expects to obtain its first operational F-15E Strike Eagle upgraded with a sophisticated digital warfare system this summer season.

In a press release to Protection Information on Thursday, Air Drive spokesperson Maj. Alli Stormer stated eight Boeing-made F-15E jets are present process modifications with the Eagle Passive Energetic Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS. The work is going down on the firm’s facility in San Antonio, Texas, the service stated.

EPAWSS will come commonplace on F-15EX Eagle II fighters, additionally made by Boeing, and will probably be added to some F-15Es. BAE Methods, which makes EPAWSS, stated the expertise will permit these F-15s to observe, jam and deceive threats in extremely contested environments in addition to present radar warning, geolocation, situational consciousness and self-defense capabilities with an array of sensors, digital countermeasures and algorithms.

The supply of the primary F-15Es with upgraded digital warfare capabilities would mark a serious step ahead within the Air Drive’s effort to modernize these fourth-generation plane and put together them for a potential battle in opposition to a sophisticated adversary, comparable to China.

Boeing began putting in the EPAWSS on operational F-15Es in San Antonio in July 2022, the Air Drive stated in a earlier assertion that 12 months. Boeing additionally awarded BAE a contract in September 2022 to provide the second EPAWSS lot for brand spanking new F-15EXs and as many as 43 F-15Es there have been already operational. The Air Drive now has roughly 218 F-15E jets.

BAE stated earlier this month that EPAWSS had lately completed its preliminary operational take a look at and analysis part.

In Thursday’s electronic mail, the Air Drive stated the Air Drive Operational Take a look at and Analysis Heart and the Pentagon’s Workplace of the Director, Operational Take a look at and Analysis will ship their last reviews on that part of EPAWSS by the top of June.

The Air Drive additionally stated EPAWSS’ engineering and manufacturing growth part is almost completed, and the service expects to have last production-representative {hardware} modules delivered this fiscal 12 months. The Air Drive expects to award a contract for full-rate manufacturing on EPAWSS by the top of 2024.

BAE declined to remark and referred queries to the Air Drive.