Boeing wins $130bn contract to sustain and upgrade global F-15 fleet

Boeing has won a contract worth more than $130 billion to sustain and modernise F-15 fighter jets flown around the world. The Pentagon confirmed the deal on 24 August, under a programme called F-15 Eagle Crest.

The agreement covers aircraft production, systems integration, modernisation, upgrades, retrofits and sustainment work, the Pentagon said, along with setting up depot maintenance capacity to support the F-15 fleet over the long term. It is structured as an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. That means the exact scope and value of individual orders will be worked out over time rather than fixed up front.

The deal covers F-15 operators in the US Air Force and Air National Guard, plus fleets flown by Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Poland. Ordering will run until August 2031, with an option to extend to August 2036, and all associated work is expected to wrap up by August 2037.

The work will be based at Boeing's fighter production site in St Louis, Missouri. The Pentagon did not say which systems will be installed under the programme. One likely upgrade mentioned is an electronic warfare system built by BAE Systems, designed to protect the non-stealth F-15 from radar-guided threats.

About 900 F-15s are currently in service worldwide, spanning older F-15C air superiority variants, F-15E strike fighters and the newer F-15EX model, which is still in production. The type ranks fourth worldwide by number of aircraft in service, behind the F-16, F-35 and Sukhoi Su-27 family.