Half of the 200 F-15J Eagle fighter jets currently in service with the JASDF will be retired because they have not been updated to the Multi-Stage Improvement Program configuration.
Hiroshi Ide, President of IHI Corporation, told reporters on May 9, 2023 during an earnings briefing, that approximately 200 Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan engines mounted on Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Mitsubishi F-15J Eagle fighter jets will have to be disposed of when they are retired.
As reported by Alert 5, half of the 200 F-15s currently in service with the JASDF have not been updated to the Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) configuration that allows these fighters to have wiring support to fire newer air-to-air missiles. Therefore, these jets will be decommissioned from service and replaced by the F-35.
Ide says his company has held talks with the ruling party on how to get rid of those fighter jets’ engines. One way is to export these engines to another country.
However, Japan’s Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology prohibits the transfer of fighter jet engines to another nation. Discussions are underway to resolve the deadlock.
On Jul. 27, 2022, Pratt & Whitney commemorated 50 years of trusted and reliable service for the F100 engine, which has accumulated more than 30 million engine flight hours.
Pratt & Whitney ushered in a new era of fighter engine capabilities in 1972 when the F100-PW-100 powered the first flight of the F-15 Eagle. With a thrust-to-weight ratio 50% higher than its predecessor, the F100 delivered superior capabilities that enabled a new frontier of performance for the F-15 and F-16 aircraft it powered. Since then, the F100 family has grown to include the F100-PW-200, F100-PW-220, and F100-PW-229 variants, each incorporating improved capabilities to deliver increased performance for its operators.
F100 has been a mainstay in the air force fleets of the United States and operators around the world, providing proven performance and unmatched reliability for more than 30 million engine flight hours. The latest F100 variants incorporate 5th Generation technologies like advanced thermal coatings, improved turbine cooling capabilities, and prognostics and engine health monitoring features that make it the engine of choice for F-15 and F-16 campaigns in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The F100 remains in production, with more than 7,300 F100 engines produced in total and 3,800+ in active service with 23 air forces around the world today.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
