Israel to buy the F-15IA “new generation” Eagle
The Times of Israel says Boeing is expected to land a massive $11 billion deal to supply F-15s, CH-47s and KC-767s to Israel.
The money will come from U.S. military aid that is progressively paid out each year.
The upgraded fighter will be designated as F-15IA and features certain stealth capabilities, such as radar-absorbing paint and internal weapons carriage.
As we have previously reported former senior Israeli Air Force (IAF) officers told that the service future squadrons cannot rely on only one type of combat plane (the F-35), hence the need for new F-15s. Moreover the F-15 is capable of striking targets at longer ranges than the F-35 and to carry a heavier payload than the Lightning II.
Noteworthy the F-15IA will be more advanced than the Eagle variants sold to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Nevertheless IAF should add a third F-35 squadron at the end of next decade.
As previously reported new threats faced by Israel have placed the potential purchase of the STOVL variant of the Joint Strike Fighter as a high priority. The F-35B’s short take-off and vertical landing capability would enable it to operate from quickly-prepared landing strips close to the front and away from the fixed airfields which rapidly come under attack during wartime.
Photo credit: Boeing
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
