Boeing’s global strike chief Dick Banholzer said the Air Force could conceivably buy some more Boeing-built F-15E fighters. The F-15E is the best of the 4th Generation fighters, but far less capable than the 5th Generation F-22. Even so, said the Boeing official, future force structure studies could recommend acquisition of an additional 50 to 100 Strike Eageles. the Air Force has purchased 236 F-15Es so far. He mentioned that there was briefly interest in using the F-15E as a platform for a standoff jammer, in light of the cold feet toward a possible B-52 SOJ but for the moment “that has all gone quiet.”
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.