Portland, Oregon, National Guard To Receive First Operational F-15EX; Top Speed Just Under Mach 3; Fast, But Not Stealthy -- June 2, 2024

Locator: 48026USAF.

Portland link here.

First USAF base to receive the brand new fighter was Eglin AFB in Florida, but they were for final testing. First operational F-15EX fighters are arriving at Portland, Oregon. I think I can see China from Portland.

The first operational F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets will be assigned to the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard, the unit that intercepts hostile aircraft over the northwest United States. 

The initial instructor pilots from the Portland-based wing were at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to fly training versions of the jet, which the Air Force said can exceed twice the speed of sound. 

“The first two will arrive this summer (2024),” said Lt. Col. Joel Thesing, the 142nd Wing’s safety officer who was among the pilots. 

In St. Louis, the first F-15EX bound for the Oregon wing rolled off the Boeing assembly line earlier this month (March, 2024). 

The Air Force has slated 18 F-15EX to be operational at the 142nd Wing by the end of 2025. 

Thesing said the exterior profile of the aircraft resembles the F-15C jets now flown by the wing, but the new jets are nimbler to maneuver and the large-area display for avionics improves a pilot’s ability to process what was going on inside and outside the aircraft. “It’s a generational leap,” he said. 

Boeing said in February the top speed for the F-15EX is 2,225 miles per hour – more than Mach 2.7 at sea level (where air is densest.)

Wiki.  

Forbes. 

Qatar.

Despite the Justice Department's concern with monopolies -- especially in the oil patch -- the department seems to have no problem with monopolies in the a/c manufacturing industries. Quick: name two other American a/c manufacturers that build planes for the US Air Force.

The first operational F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets will be assigned to the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard, the unit that intercepts hostile aircraft over the northwest United States, the Air Force said. The initial instructor pilots from the Portland-based wing were at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to fly training versions of the jet, which the Air Force said can exceed twice the speed of sound. “The first two will arrive this summer,” said Lt. Col. Joel Thesing, the 142nd Wing’s safety officer who was among the pilots. In St. Louis, the first F-15EX bound for the Oregon wing rolled off the Boeing assembly line earlier this month. The Air Force has slated 18 F-15EX to be operational at the 142nd Wing by the end of 2025. Thesing said the exterior profile of the aircraft resembles the F-15C jets now flown by the wing, but the new jets are nimbler to maneuver and the large-area display for avionics improves a pilot’s ability to process what was going on inside and outside the aircraft. “It’s a generational leap,” he said. Boeing said in February the top speed for the F-15EX is 2,225 miles per hour – more than Mach 2.7 at sea level.

Despit
Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-03-27/f15ex-fighter-jet-oregon-guard-air-force-13441327.html
Source - Stars and Stripes