Photo: BAE Systems
The F-15, like most other military aircraft out there, is an old machine. It first flew exactly half a century ago as a tactical fighter, and it’ll probably continue to do so for a lot more years, given how its current maker, Boeing, is working hard at upgrading it with new systems and more variants.
One way the aerospace company is trying to keep the plane up-to-date is by installing new capabilities in the plane, modern ones suited for use in today’s world. The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System is one such capability.
EPAWSS for short, it is made by BAE Systems and comes as a collection of multispectral sensors that help the plane be much more aware of its surroundings, and gives the pilot radar warning, situational awareness, geolocation, and self-protection capabilities.
All these “electromagnetic capabilities,” as BAE Systems calls them, were announced as being a part of the F-15E and F-15EX Eagle II package back in March last year. This July, Boeing officially began modifying two F-15Es with the system, and this week we got word of BAE being asked (and paid) to produce more of them.
The recent order, whose size was not disclosed, brings the total EPAWSS contract to $351 million, but most importantly, gifts the aging planes with improved survivability and combat effectiveness “against advanced air defense systems in contested environments.”
“EPAWSS production is growing as the Department of Defense signals the long-term importance of F-15s to the strategic fleet,” said in a statement Bridget McDermott, EPAWSS LRIP program director at BAE Systems. “These aircraft bring speed, maneuverability, and payload to the fight, and now with EPAWSS, they can better detect and protect against modern threats.”
The F-15, in its Eagle II incarnation, has been selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as one of five members of the future streamlined fleet of fighter airplanes, alongside the F-35, F-16, A-10, and the upcoming sixth-gen Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).
EPAWSS for short, it is made by BAE Systems and comes as a collection of multispectral sensors that help the plane be much more aware of its surroundings, and gives the pilot radar warning, situational awareness, geolocation, and self-protection capabilities.
All these “electromagnetic capabilities,” as BAE Systems calls them, were announced as being a part of the F-15E and F-15EX Eagle II package back in March last year. This July, Boeing officially began modifying two F-15Es with the system, and this week we got word of BAE being asked (and paid) to produce more of them.
The recent order, whose size was not disclosed, brings the total EPAWSS contract to $351 million, but most importantly, gifts the aging planes with improved survivability and combat effectiveness “against advanced air defense systems in contested environments.”
“EPAWSS production is growing as the Department of Defense signals the long-term importance of F-15s to the strategic fleet,” said in a statement Bridget McDermott, EPAWSS LRIP program director at BAE Systems. “These aircraft bring speed, maneuverability, and payload to the fight, and now with EPAWSS, they can better detect and protect against modern threats.”
The F-15, in its Eagle II incarnation, has been selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as one of five members of the future streamlined fleet of fighter airplanes, alongside the F-35, F-16, A-10, and the upcoming sixth-gen Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).
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