The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $130 million contract to upgrade eight active duty and eight Air National Guard F-15C fighters with the APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array radar, the company announced March 17. Raytheon builds the radar and is the subcontractor to Boeing. USAF plans to install AESA radars on 177 F-15C/Ds and maintain these airplanes out to around 2025. This contract is the second award for this work, following a September 2007 contract to install the radar on six ANG F-15Cs. “The F-15C AESA radar system combines the best elements of our F-15 and F/A-18 AESA radar technology, which we’re constantly refining,” Tom Kennedy, vice president for the Tactical Airborne Systems group at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, said in the company’s release. The Air Force already operates 18 F-15Cs with Raytheon’s APG-63(V)2 radar. These aircraft were originally based at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, but moved last year to Kadena AB, Japan, once F-22s started arriving at Elmendorf.
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”