Boeing Backed Offs From 2012 Prediction For F-15 Production Line Shutdown

F-15

Boeing has backed off from previous forecasts that the 40-year-old F-15 production line would shut down next year in the absence of new orders, adding that there are a "number of pending" orders for the type.

"It is premature and inappropriate for us to even speculate on when the production line might close," Boeing said in a statement responding to a question.

On 21 October last year, the Obama administration notified the US Congress of a possible sale of 72 F-15Es to Riyadh, but the deal with Saudi Arabia has now been pending for almost a year.

The proposed deal included significant capability upgrades for the nation's existing F-15SAs.

The 2010 notification signalled that the administration intended to move forwards with the sale, despite objections from Israel.

The Israeli government had openly expressed concerns that the sale of upgraded F-15Es to Saudi Arabia could erode its qualitative military advantage in the Middle East.

But the contract for the new batch of F-15s was never signed by Saudi Arabia, and the status of any negotiations remains unclear.

In mid-2010, Boeing officials said they would need a new contract for the F-15 before the end of 2011, to avoid a break in the production line.

The company is scheduled to deliver the last of 21 F-15Ks to South Korea in March 2012 and Singapore's order for 24 F-15SGs is scheduled to be completed next year.

For now, the US airframer does not appear to be panicking about the possibility of a break in production.

In addition to the pending Saudi Arabian deal, the F-15SE Silent Eagle variant is competing for a follow-on contract in South Korea for 40 to 60 aircraft.

The competition includes the Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Sukhoi's PAK-FA.

However, Seoul is not planning to award a contract until at least October 2012.

The F-15 has been in continuous production for nearly 40 years, and is one of five active fighter production lines in the USA.

Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is scheduled to remain in production for the US Navy through to at least 2015.

Lockheed Martin is shutting down F-22 production in April next year, but its F-16 backlog is filled through 2014. F-35 production is planned to continue for nearly 25 years.

http://www.flightglobal.com

Comments

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF...

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite...

ASIAN DEFENCE

Search This Blog