The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday unveiled nearly $166 billion budget request for fiscal 2020 that includes plans to acquire eight new F-15EX fighter jets to replace the ageing F-15C/D fleet.
The F-15EX, commonly known as Strike Eagle on Steroids, is the latest version of the world-famous F-15 Eagle fighter jet.
The new fighter aircraft will be equipped with better avionics and radars and would carry more than two dozen air-to-air missiles.
The fighter will also be affordable as compared to F-35A. The newest Eagle is expected to cost about $27,000 per hour to fly. This will cheaper as be compared to $45,000 an hour to fly the F-35A.
Additionally, he F-15EX will have a whopping 20,000-hour service life, enabling it to serve for decades comparing to the original F-15 that was built to serve only 5,000 hours.
