Re: 미공군 F-15EX 보유를 267대로 두 배 이상 확대

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미공군이 F-15EX 이글II 도입 계획 규모를 129대에서 267대로 두 배 이상 늘렸습니다. C/D뿐만 아니라 스트라이크 이글 전력도 보충하겠네요. 

플로리다주 에글린 공군기지 소속 F-15EX 이글 II 전투기 4대 편대가 2025년 11월 21일 멕시코만 상공을 비행하고 있다. 프랭크 켄달 공군장관 Troy Meink는 에글린 방문 중 선두 기체의 뒷좌석에 탑승했다. (미 공군 사진: Blake Wiles)

공군, F-15EX 전력 규모를 267대로 두 배 이상 확대
2026년 4월 23일 | 작성자 Stephen Losey

공군은 신형 F-15EX 이글 II 전투기 도입 계획 규모를 두 배 이상 확대해, 구매 목표를 기존 129대에서 267대로 늘렸다.

공군 대변인은 이 새로운 구매 계획을 Air & Space Forces Magazine에 확인했으며, 2027 회계연도에 도입 예정인 24대의 F-15EX도 포함된다고 밝혔다. 새로운 총 전력 규모는 Breaking Defense가 처음 보도했다.

대변인은 “이 계획은 기존 F-15EX 부대 구성을 완료하고, 이후 노후화된 F-15E 전력을 대체하는 데 착수하는 것을 의미한다”고 말했다.

현재 공군은 약 25대의 EX를 보유하고 있으며, 보잉과 100대 이상의 추가 기체에 대한 계약을 체결한 상태다. 이 전투기는 기존 F-15의 개량형으로, 첨단 항공전자 장비, 플라이바이와이어 조종 시스템, 향상된 전자전 능력을 갖추고 있다.

4월 21일 국방부에서 열린 예산 브리핑에서 공군 관계자들은 F-15EX와 F-35A를 모두 도입해야 한다고 설명했다. 두 기종이 서로 다른 능력을 바탕으로 전투기 전력 구성을 균형 있게 만들어준다는 것이다.

한 관계자는 “F-15EX와 같은 플랫폼에서 우리가 기대하는 역할은 5세대, 6세대 전투기와는 근본적으로 다르다”며 “특히 무장 탑재 능력, 장착 가능한 무장 레일 수, 그리고 태평양 전구에서의 역할 등을 고려할 때 분명한 필요성이 있다. 이는 전투사령부와 합동군 요구를 충족하기 위한 균형 잡힌 전력 구성을 의미한다”고 말했다.

267대 도입 목표는 최근 몇 년간 여러 차례 변경된 구매 계획 이후 크게 증가한 수치다.

공군은 2020년 보잉과 F-15EX 계약을 체결할 당시 최대 144대를 도입할 계획이라고 밝혔다.
2022년에는 자원 제약을 이유로 계획을 80대로 축소했다.
2023년에는 24대를 다시 추가해 총 104대로 늘렸지만, 더 이상 확대하지 않겠다고 밝혔다.
2025년에는 다시 129대로 증가했다.

현재까지 공군은 1980년대부터 운용해온 노후 F-15C/D 기종과 A-10을 대체하기 위해 F-15EX를 도입해왔다.

그러나 총 267대를 확보하기 위해 추가로 138대를 도입할 경우, F-15E 스트라이크 이글 전력의 상당 부분도 퇴역시키는 데 도움이 될 수 있다. 공군은 현재 216대의 F-15E를 보유하고 있으며, 이전에는 이 중 99대만 남기고 나머지를 퇴역시킬 계획을 밝힌 바 있다. 유지되는 기체는 최신 F100-PW-229 엔진을 장착한 모델이다.

이번 확대 도입은 공군이 매년 최소 72대의 신형 전투기를 도입하겠다는 목표를 달성하는 데에도 기여할 수 있다. 공군은 전투기 전력이 장기적으로 노후화되고 규모가 줄어드는 추세를 되돌리기 위해 이 정도 규모의 도입이 필요하다고 보고 있다.

공군의 2027년 예산 요청에는 62대의 신형 전투기 도입이 포함되어 있으며, 여기에는 F-35A 38대와 F-15EX 24대가 포함된다. 2026년에는 F-35 24대와 F-15EX 22대를 도입하고 있다.

Air Force Doubles Planned F-15EX Fleet to 267 Fighters

A formation of four F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets, assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., fly over the Gulf of Mexico, Nov. 21, 2025. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink flew in the backseat of the lead jet as part of his visit to Eglin. (U.S. Air Force photo by Blake Wiles)

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Air Force Doubles Planned F-15EX Fleet to 267 Fighters

April 23, 2026 | By Stephen Losey

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The Air Force is more than doubling the planned size of its new F-15EX Eagle II fleet, increasing the number of fighters it aims to buy from 129 to 267.

An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the new purchase plan to Air & Space Forces Magazine and said it includes the 24 F-15EXs the service plans to buy in fiscal 2027. The new fleet total was first reported by Breaking Defense.

“This will complete building existing F-15EX units and then begin to recapitalize the aging F-15E fleet,” the spokesperson said.

There are currently about 25 EXs in the Air Force inventory, and the service has agreed on contracts with Boeing for more than 100 of the fighters, which are upgraded versions of the F-15 that feature advanced avionics, fly-by-wire controls, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.

In an April 21 budget briefing with reporters at the Pentagon, Air Force officials said the service needs to buy both the F-15EX along with the F-35A, because their different capabilities work together to balance out the fighter portfolio.

“There are fundamental differences in what we’re looking for in a platform like the F-15EX, as compared to other advanced fifth-generation and sixth-generation fighters,” an official said. “And when you break down the specifics of what that airplane can do, in its specific carriage capability, is the number of [weapons] rails that it has, and its role in the Pacific theater, there is a specific need for it. It’s about a balanced portfolio in order to meet combatant command and joint service requirements.”

The new goal of buying 267 jets is a dramatic increase after multiple tweaks to the purchase plan in recent years:

• When the Air Force first awarded Boeing the F-15EX contract in 2020, it said it would buy as many as 144 of the fighters.
• In 2022, officials reduced the plan to just 80 jets, citing resource constraints.
• In 2023, leaders added 24 fighters back to the budget, for a total fleet of 104, but said they would go no further.
• In 2025, the planned fleet size grew once more to 129 jets

To date, the Air Force has bought the F-15EX to replace to replace older F-15C and D models, many of which have been flying since the 1980s, as well as the A-10.

But buying an additional 138 EXs to get to a fleet of 267 would allow the Air Force to make significant headway in retiring the F-15E Strike Eagle too—the service currently has 216 F-15Es in its inventory and previously outlined plans to retire all but 99 of them, keeping only E models with the newer F100-PW-229 engines.

The expanded buy could also help the Air Force hit its goal of buying at least 72 new fighters each year. Officials say they need at least that many aircraft to reverse the long-term trend of the fighter fleet getting older and smaller over time.

The Air Force’s 2027 budget request would buy 62 new fighters, including 38 F-35As and 24 F-15EXs. In 2026, it is buying just 24 F-35s and 22 F-15EXs.

[백선호]

벌써 15년 전인 2011년 기사에도 나오죵.

https://cafe.daum.net/NTDS/515G/1394

... the upgraded F-15s will pack on missiles and fuel and fly with radars blaring, spotting opponents through sheer, electronic brute force, while F-22s shut down their sensors and, perhaps guided by the Eagle pilots, circle around the enemy's flanks.

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