The Air Force awarded Boeing a $9.9 million contract modification to expand pilot and maintenance training for the Royal Saudi Air Force new build F-15SA fighters, the Pentagon announced. In addition to the 70 legacy RSAF F-15s undergoing refurbishment in the US, Boeing is building an additional 84 upgraded F-15SA fighters for the Saudis. The modification adds to the original $75.5 million foreign military sales contract for training on the new jets, according to the Defense Department’s April 11 list of major contracts. The Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron is overseeing the training, which will be conducted both stateside and in Saudi Arabia, according to DOD. Boeing rolled out the F-15SA test aircraft last May at its factory in St. Louis, Mo., reported Aviation International News.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth foot-stomped the Pentagon's push for acquisition speed and contractor accountability in a Jan. 12 speech at Lockheed Martin’s production hub in Fort Worth, Texas—the heart of the department’s biggest acquisition program, the F-35.
