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Air Force Seeks 267 F-15EX Jets as Senators Push Faster, Bigger Buy

Congressional action will decide whether the Air Force can lock in multi‑year deals and scale production beyond today’s pace.

A formation of four U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets, assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, fly over the Gulf of America, Nov. 21, 2025. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Blake Wiles)
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Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an F-15EX Eagle II landing at Kadena Air Base, Japan on July 16, 2025. The plane is with the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., according to the Air Force.

Overview

  • Air Force leaders confirmed a plan to more than double the F-15EX Eagle II fleet to 267 aircraft, with 24 jets included in the fiscal 2027 budget request at roughly $3 billion.
  • A bipartisan Senate package led by Sens. Ted Budd and Jeanne Shaheen would authorize 200 additional F-15EXs, allow multi-year procurement for F-15EX and F-35, and set fighter inventory floors of 1,369 by 2030 and 1,558 by 2035.
  • Officials said the F-15EX will complement the F-35A, using its large weapons-rail capacity and range for roles like Pacific strike and homeland cruise-missile defense rather than stealthy penetration missions.
  • The Air Force said the larger buy would finish building current F-15EX units and start replacing aging F-15E Strike Eagles, though the timeline depends on Congress and industry output.
  • At present production rates of about two dozen aircraft per year, analysts expect reaching a 267-jet fleet to stretch into the mid-2030s, making stable contracts and factory capacity key to speed.