ACC plans to upgrade its F-15E Strike Eagles with new avionics, Keys said. “We’re about out of memory and processing power” in the current system, he said. With this upgrade, called “Golden Eagle,” the youngest F-15Es in the USAF inventory can continue in service at least another 15 years.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.