How the F-15EX and F-35 Fighters Make Israel’s Air Force Unstoppable

What You Need to Know: With a rich history of F-15 use, Israel’s air force could see new advantages from adding the F-15EX Eagle II to its fleet. Building on the IAF’s undefeated combat record, the F-15EX offers advanced capabilities as a versatile fighter and “bomb truck,” and would complement Israel’s F-35 fleet.

-Together, they provide a one-two punch that would give Israel a significant edge over regional adversaries lacking fifth-generation aircraft.

-Despite a high price tag, the Eagle II’s potential to enhance Israeli air superiority could justify the investment, especially as the IAF’s history shows success in adapting and maintaining U.S. aircraft.

Why Israel Needs the F-15EX to Complement Its F-35s in the Middle East

The F-15EX Eagle II is, in essence, the latest & greatest edition of the two-seater F-15E Strike Eagle, the plane that excels as both a fighter and as a “bomb truck,” AKA a ground attack aircraft. As Boeing proudly declares on its info page on the Eagle II, “Ready to fight as soon as it comes off the line, the F-15EX is the most affordable, reliable, and immediate way to refresh the capacity and update the capabilities of tactical fighter fleets…With low operating costs compared to other fighters yet four times the weapons payload and twice the fuel, range, and speed, the F-15EX represents a modern solution that global Air Forces can field within their schedule.” 

So then, that begs that question: now that the Eagle II has finally officially entered into operational service with the U.S. Air Force, effective this past June, would it also be a good choice for the Israeli Air Force (IAF)? My short answer is an unqualified, “Ken, adonie (Yes, sir)!” 

I shall now give you my rationale for the why and the wherefore.  

A Long, Happy Relationship: The History of the F-15 in IAF service 

First and foremost, there is the issue of precedent. The IAF and the F-15 series, which they have officially redubbed the “Ra’am [Thunder],” have a longstanding positive relationship, dating back to 1977, back when the fighter was being produced by her original manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas, which ended up merging with Boeing in 1997. 

According to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA), the IAF has a total of fifty-eight F-15s, twenty-five F-15Is, seventeen F-15Cs, and sixteen old-school F-15As.  

Indeed, although the Eagle is an American-made warbird, she was first “blooded” in combat not by the Americans, but by the Israelis. Coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, the equally American-made General Dynamics cum Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon also saw her first combat usage in the same engagement: Operation Opera AKA Operation Babylon, the 1981 (IAF) air strike against Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor at Osirak. 

As I noted in a previous article, “On June 7, 1981, the die was cast. At 3:55 p.m. that day, eight IAF F-16As, each carrying two unguided Mk-84 (BLU-117) 2,000-pound delay-action bombs, escorted by six F-15A Eagles providing top cover/fighter escort, embarked on their fateful mission. They took off from the now-defunct Etzion Airbase on the Sinai Peninsula…fourteen of the sixteen bombs struck home inside the dome and obliterated the reactor. Ten Iraqi soldiers and one French engineer were killed in the strike…The entire IAF strike force returned to Etzion, completely unscathed, at 7 p.m.” 

Though the Eagle II sure as heck ain’t cheap, $97 million per airframe according to my National Interest colleague Harrison Kass, which translates to 359,520,000 Israeli shekels at the current exchange rate, I imagine the IDF should be able to afford it fairly easily. After all, they already own thirty-nine F-35s, which have a unit cost of $82.5 million, 302.85 million shekels.  

Then there’s the matter of the Eagle II inheriting the unparalleled combat track record of her ancestors: an undefeated 104:0 kill ratio in air-to-air combat, though to be fair, only one of those was scored by the F-15E. And the majority of the kills have been scored not by American F-15 pilots, but rather by, you guessed it, Israeli F-15I drivers.  

Perfect Complement to the F-35 Lightning II 

In a classic example of history repeating itself, just as the Israelis were the first to use the F-15 and F-16 in combat, ditto for the Lightning II, as they have successfully used their F-35I Adir in combat multiple times quite successfully.

And just as the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is using the 4.5 Generation Eagle II as a stopgap to address the shortfall on fifth Generation Lockheed F-22 Raptor production, brought on by then-Secretary of Defense Bob Gates’s shortsighted 2009 decision to prematurely kill that program, it can just as easily provide a perfect complement to the IAF’s Adir fifth Generation fighter program. And since neither one of Israel’s biggest nation-state adversaries, Iran and Syria, have fifth-Generation fighters, the F-15EX/F-35 tandem would prove to be an even greater one-two punch force multiplier for the Israelis in the Middle Eastern air superiority race.   

Any downsides/disadvantages? 

Well, there is that small, trifling matter of Boeing’s recent poor safety record. But seeing how the IAF has managed to avoid the bugs in their F-35s that have so constantly plagued the American-owned Lightning IIs, I imagine that the same Israeli ingenuity will be applied to the F-15EX if and when the warbirds are acquired.  

About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert 

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch , The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). 

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