Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute says he doesn’t think Boeing’s “stealth” F-15 proposal is aimed at getting the Air Force to buy more F-15s, which are a bit cheaper than F-22s. Rather, the target audience is foreign operators who want stealth in a high-end fighter but “can’t have” the F-22, Thompson told an audience Wednesday at a Mitchell Institute airpower forum in Washington, D.C. (see above). Boeing’s tactic is a good one in that it offers a chance for F-15 operators outside the US to upgrade equipment they already have, Thompson said. As far as Boeing trying to get the Air Force to spend money on new F-15s versus the F-22, Thompson said there’s no logic in it, since “Boeing makes one-third of the F-22.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
