It would be an understatement to say that 2024 was not kind to Boeing. The company lost $11.8 billion, the worst loss since COVID-19 grounded the entire aviation industry. However, their military sector could be a saving grace for 2025.
From the door plug that blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in early January 2024 and pilots reporting other issues with the aircraft, to the strike by factory workers on the U.S. West Coast, there wasn’t much that could be described as “good news.”
Moreover, the year ended tragically with a 737 crash flown by South Korean discount carrier Jeju Air, which killed 179 passengers and crew on board.
Now, Boeing is hoping to adjust its course and move on.
The F-15EX Eagle II multirole fighter could help the aerospace firm get back on track. The company is preparing to deliver Lot 2 to the United States Air Force. Eight Eagle IIs were manufactured for the initial Lot 1A and 1B deliveries, which were completed last summer.
According to international military analyst firm Janes, the first six were sent for “developmental testing at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, while two were delivered to the type’s first operational base in Portland, Oregon, for operation by the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard (ANG).”
The first fighter from Lot 2 took its maiden flight earlier this month and will likely also head to Portland. Two additional fighters, “tail numbers ten and eleven,” are now “awaiting flight-testing. ” Those aircraft will also head to the 142nd Wing.
Robert Novotny, Boeing’s executive director for the 15EX program, told Janes that the delivery process involves “three or four flights,” including two made by the aerospace firm, following by another “one or two from the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency, which accepts aircraft on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD).”
Boeing’s F-15EX is Still a Capable Warbird
The F-15EX is a two-seat fighter with capabilities unique to the U.S. Air Force. These include new fly-by-wire flight controls, improved weapons stations, an enhanced electronic warfare suite, advanced radar and computer, conformal fuel tanks, and a strengthened airframe.
The Eagle II also features a deep magazine that allows it to carry advanced weapons, with a 28 percent larger payload than the older F-15E.
However, the Eagle II requires only minimal transitional training and little additional workforce from the older versions of the F-15. Moreover, the Eagle II could be employed to escort high-value assets and serve in an air superiority role to counter missile threats, while still being able to conduct air-to-ground precision strikes.
Thus, the F-15EX could complement the F-35, not replace it.
Though the F-15EX is still in its early production stage, it is already receiving additional upgrades. In January, Boeing was awarded a $615 million Pentagon contract for the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) FRP, which will see the multirole aircraft updated with the kits through the end of 2030.
Although its cost is still an issue, the F-15EX has proven to have a significantly higher mission-capable rate than the F-35 or even the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Though fewer than a dozen are now in service, the Eagle II achieved an 83.13 percent mission-capable rate, compared with the Lightning II’s MC rate of 67.15 percent for all variants.
Boeing is Hiring in St. Louis
Last week, Boeing announced that it will hire a “couple hundred” workers at its St. Louis facility, where the F-15EX is being produced. That is a turnaround for the company, which laid off nearly 700 regional employees in January.
“I see us growing and adding teammates, both additional mechanics to help build F-15s and engineers, supply chain, and our office team to help us execute on these key and critical programs,” Dan Gillian, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Air Dominance Division told The St. Louis Business Journal.
“We went through that reduction…to get our overall business across Boeing right-sized for where we’re at and where we’re going,” added Gillian, who previously oversaw the F/A-18 program.
“That was painful and disruptive for our employees and teammates, but a necessary part of the business cycle.”
Boeing currently employs around 16,000 people in the St. Louis metro area.
Last October, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced that the company plans to cut its workforce by 10 percent, or roughly 17,000 jobs. Those reductions included corporate executives, managers, and employees.
The latest contracts, including for the U.S. military and foreign military sales (FMS), have allowed the company to hire again.
“The contracts and work that we’ve won have me increasing the size of our team here in St. Louis by a couple hundred people this year,” Gillian explained.
Boeing’s F-15EX is Up, Lockheed Martin’s F/A-18 Super Hornet is Down
Boeing is just one of two U.S. defense contractors building manned fighter aircraft for the military, while Lockheed Martin is the other. Aerospace rival Northrop Grumman is contracted to build the B-21 Raider strategic bomber, and it is believed Northrop Grumman is competing with Boeing for the F/A-XX contract, the U.S. Navy’s sixth-generation fighter that will replace Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet now in service.
However, the end of the line is already coming for the Super Hornet.
Following a prolonged negotiation, Boeing was awarded the final contract for the carrier-based multirole fighter last year. Production of the F/A-18 is set to end in 2027, as the aerospace firm could not secure any additional foreign contracts.
Will Boeing’s 2025 Production Increase?
According to a report from Simple Flying, in 2024, Boeing produced fourteen F-15s, including the Eagle II models for the U.S. Air Force, and twelve Super Hornets. It also manufactured two T-7A Red Hawk trainers for the Air Force.
Yet, by comparison, Lockheed Martin delivered 110 F-35 Lightning IIs to the U.S. and partner nations and sixteen F-16 Fighting Falcons, all of the latter aircraft for foreign customers.
Production of the Eagle II is expected to continue into the 2030s, but Boeing’s future could be in uncrewed aircraft. The company handles the assembly of its MQ-25 unmanned refueling drones at its facilities north of St. Louis, and the company recently invested $200 million to build a new factory in Mascoutah in the city’s metro east.
“In the not too distant future, we’ll start building from the ground up MQ-25s over in St. Clair County,” Gillian further told the St. Louis business outlet.
Gillian added that the company has its sights on the F/A-XX.
“We are competing and I’m proud of what our team has put together,” he added. “We think it’s an incredibly compelling offer.”
The future carrier-based fighter could be crucial to keeping Boeing in the operated aircraft game. However, Boeing will also likely compete, alongside Lockheed Martin and possibly even Northrop Grumman, for the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which seeks to develop a system of systems including an optionally manned six-gen fighter.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/Sara Christine.
