The expanded production line comes even as the Air Force has expressed a desire to shrink its F-15EX fleet.

This week, the United States Air Force lost three F-15E Strike Eagle fighters in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait as part of its ongoing Operation Epic Fury. Any loss of combat aircraft is significant—not only because of the immense cost of the aircraft, but because of the risk to the lives of the pilots and weapons systems officers. Fortunately, all six crewmembers ejected and were recovered without incident.

Although the Air Force probably would have rather not lost the F-15E fighters in the way it did, the service had already announced that it would gradually reduce its inventory of the aircraft, with current plans calling for the fleet to cut from 218 Strike Eagles to just 99 upgraded aircraft. The remaining fighters will receive the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS), an electronic warfare (EW) suite developed by BAE Systems.

The Air Force is already retiring its older F-15C fighters, replacing them with the newer F-15EX Eagle II, the modernized version of the Cold War-era aircraft now being produced by Boeing.

Boeing Is Building More Eagle II Fighters to Make Up for Lost Time

Even before the US Air Force lost the three F-15Es, for which we still don’t know if the aircraft received the EPAWSS update, Boeing announced last week that it would expand the production line at its St. Louis facility, where the Eagle IIs are being hatched.

Mark Sears, vice president and program manager for Boeing Fighters, told the St. Louis Business Journal that for the past two decades, the aerospace giant has produced one F-15 per month. Beginning next year, production will double, with two aircraft rolling off the assembly line. Deliveries of the increased-production aircraft will begin by the end of 2027 or in early 2028.

The increased production of the F-15EX has been long expected, and it should have ramped up earlier this year. A full dozen Eagle IIs were set for delivery by the end of calendar year 2025, and Boeing had set a goal of reaching the assembly rate of two aircraft per month by early 2026.

However, Boeing’s plan was interrupted after the company faced a lengthy walkout by its workforce in the St. Louis region, including facilities in St. Charles and Mascoutah, Illinois. Prior to the strike, the Eagle II program had remained within project cost, schedule, and performance criteria, with all Lot 1 aircraft already delivered to the US Air Force.

“It’s a little bit later for us than anticipated, somewhat driven by the work stoppage that we experienced last summer,” said Sears.

He noted the nearly 15-week-long strike by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837. Following weeks of negotiations, the strike finally ended in November.

Last fall, then-Air Force chief of staff nominee Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said in written testimony to lawmakers that deliveries of the F-15EX Eagle II had already been delayed due to the strike.

The F-15EX Eagle II’s Specifications

Though the F-15EX lacks the stealth capabilities of Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II, a selling point has been that the Eagle II could replace the aging F-15 Eagles in service for decades. The United States Air Force maintains the largest F-15 fleet in the world, and the F-15EX could enable a more seamless transition.

Boeing has maintained that the Eagle II will not require new logistics chains, training squadrons, infrastructure modification, program offices, or even weapons integration. The F-15EX Eagle IIs also share about 70 percent of parts with the current F-15C and F-15E variants being replaced.

• Year Introduced: 2021
• Number Built: 129+ (ongoing production)
• Length: 63.8 ft (19.44 m)
• Wingspan: 42.8 ft (13 m)
• Weight (MTOW): 81,000 lbs. (36,740 kgs)
• Engines: Two General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofans
• Top Speed: 1,650 mph (2,655 km/h) / Mach 2.5
• Range: ~2,762 mi (4,445 km)
• Service Ceiling: ~60,000 ft (18,300 m)
• Loadout: One internally mounted M61A1 20 mm six-barrel cannon with 500 rounds, 23 hardpoints for external fuel and ordnance (29,500 lb payload capacity)
• Aircrew: 2 (pilot and weapons systems officer) 

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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