A Pentagon Report Found the F-15EX Eagle II ‘Operationally Effective’ Against Surrogate 5th-Generation Aircraft in Air Superiority Testing
Pure airspeed, sensing, next-generation weapons, and an expansive payload are just a few of the attributes recognized in Boeing’s F-15EX, an aircraft thought to bridge a capability gap between 4th- and 5th-generation aircraft.
While not stealthy, the F-15EX is among the fastest in the world, and its new production is engineered with a paradigm-changing high-speed computer, the Advanced Display Core Processor II, capable of performing billions of tasks per second.
The ability to fire hypersonic weapons, travel at speeds of Mach 2.5, and operate with a computer processor capable of 87 billion functions per second are just a few of the breakthrough technologies built into the Air Force’s F-15EX.
A U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II flies over the Gulf of America, September 16, 2025. The F-15EX, from the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is one of the first F-15EXs in the Air Force, and is going through developmental and operational test series at Eglin to confirm its operational capabilities before it is delivered to the combat Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Blake Wiles)
An F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Jet assigned to the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, taxis out from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Oct. 21, 2021. The new F-15EX aircrafts are at Nellis AFB to test how effective and suitable the aircraft is for future use in our Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis)
Perhaps these attributes are part of why a rather surprising Pentagon report finds that the Air Force’s now-emerging 4th-gen “plus” F-15EX can prove effective in air-to-air combat against 5th-gen aircraft.
In development for many years, Boeing’s F-15EX integrates a series of new technologies intended to propel the aircraft well beyond 4th-generation fighter jet capability, including new radar, weapons applications, avionics, fire control, computing, and sensing.
Testing the F-15EX Eagle II
A Department of Test and Evaluation report from last year found the F-15EX successful in testing.
“Against the level of threat tested, the F-15EX is operationally effective in all its air superiority roles, including defensive and offensive counter-air against surrogate fifth-generation adversary aircraft, as well as basic air-to-ground capability against the tested threats,” the report states.
An examination of available specs indicates several reasons why it may be quite realistic that an F-15EX would prove effective in an air war against 5th-gen aircraft, including pure speed, high-speed computing, and sensor range and fidelity.
Several years ago, the F-15 was integrated with the fastest jet-computing processor in the world, the Advanced Display Core Processor II, which, Boeing innovators have explained, performs 87 billion computations per second.
A U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II flies over the Gulf of America, September 16, 2025. The F-15EX, from the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is one of the first F-15EXs in the Air Force, and is going through developmental and operational test series at Eglin to prepare the platform to be delivered to the warfighter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Jacob Stephens)
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard Turner, 40th Flight Test Squadron commander flies 40 FLTS Senior Enlisted Leader, MSgt Tristan McIntire during a test sortie in the F-15EX Eagle II over the Gulf of Mexico on Jun. 14, 2022. Assigned to the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the F-15EX Eagle II is the Air Force’s newest 4th generation fighter being tested at the 40 FLTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John McRell)
F-15EX Computing
With computing this much faster, many of the distinct F-15EX attributes reside in networking, computing, electronic warfare (EW), radar, and threat warning systems. Yet, the new jet incorporates several potentially paradigm-changing propulsion technologies and attack weapons possibilities.
This kind of paradigm-changing computing might help explain why the F-15EX may indeed threaten an F-35 or even an F-22 in air combat. What the F-15EX lacks in stealth could be accounted for by pure speed and F-35-like high-speed computing.
The F-15EX is listed as capable of Mach 2.5, a speed considerably faster than the Mach 1.6 F-35 and the Mach 2.25 F-22.
The F-15EX is not only engineered with new levels of thrust but also carries 12 missiles, as well as elements of its existing or well-known arsenal, including the AIM-120D, AIM-9X, and standard JDAMs, among others.
While there have been massive software upgrades to the AIM-120D and AIM-9x, enabling improved targeting guidance, jamming countermeasures, and explosives, some of the newer weapons additions could be even more groundbreaking.
The F-15EX will, for example, carry and fire air-launched hypersonic weapons.
A U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II, assigned to 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, July 16, 2025.This short-term visit marked a key milestone in the Department of Defense’s ongoing effort to modernize U.S. airpower in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Nathaniel Jackson)
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard Turner, 40th Flight Test Squadron commander flies 40 FLTS Senior Enlisted Leader, MSgt Tristan McIntire during a test sortie in the F-15EX Eagle II over the Gulf of Mexico on Jun. 14, 2022. Assigned to the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the F-15EX Eagle II is the Air Force’s newest 4th generation fighter being tested at the 40 FLTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John McRell)
This decided combat advantage needs little introduction, as its arrival will naturally transform modern air war by altering attack speed, enemy response time, and stand-off attack range.
An air-fired missile traveling at 5 times the speed of sound would certainly hit an air or ground target operating hundreds of miles away in a matter of minutes, all but eliminating an enemy’s ability to respond in time.
New F-15 Weapons
The Air Force has now also armed its F-15EX with the well-known Stormbreaker weapon, a first-of-its-kind air-dropped bomb capable of finding, tracking, and destroying moving targets from up to 40 nautical miles away in all weather conditions.
Not only does the Stormbreaker utilize a two-way data link, enabling it to adjust course in flight according to a target’s movements, but it is also engineered with an often-discussed tri-mode seeker.
The “tri-mode” targeting and sensing technology leverages millimeter-wave, infrared, and laser guidance to track and eliminate targets.
The F-15s’ weapons are engineered to closely align with the kinds of sensing, computing, and EW applications known to be fundamental to 5th-Gen assets such as the F-35.
F-15EX Eagle II’s from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, 96th Test Wing, and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing, both out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, fly in formation during aerial refueling operations with a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 370th Flight Test Squadron out of Edwards Air Force Base, California, May 14. The Eagle II’s participated in the Northern Edge 21 exercise in Alaska earlier in May. (Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner)
An F-15EX Eagle II, assigned to the 142nd Wing, taxis on the flightline before take-off during the official Unveiling Ceremony for the new fighter jet at the Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon on July 12, 2024. The 142nd Wing will be replacing the F-15 C/D model Eagles with the new F-15EX Eagle II models. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
However, the DOT&E report adds the caveat that, during testing, the F-15EX may not have been matched against the most advanced threats available.
Therefore, it may not be fully known just how comparable an F-15EX is to an F-35.
Yet, many regard the F-35’s advantage as a so-called “flying computer” in terms of the fidelity, range, and integration of its sensing, radar, threat warning, and information-sharing systems. This is quite similar to what is described for the F-15EX.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
geh-geh
April 7, 2026 at 4:02 pm
The F-15EX has been designed to kick down the door using nuclear-capable HAWC or HACM hypersonic missiles, as well as other long-ranged standoff weapons.
Additionally, it can tangle with advanced opposing fighters, though it would need AWACS support in this regard.
But the F-15EX could easily find it has bitten more than it could chew when, attempting to kick down the door, it is confronted by dozens of armed high-speed drones like the WZ-8 and high-flying drones like the WZ-9.
The pilots of the F-15EX would have to quickly decide whether to just hightail it, or to continue on their one-way mission.
Shades of nam.