The U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported that production mistakes and quality problems with Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II program have caused the fighter’s delivery schedule to slip by at least six months, which could endanger its ability to meet key deadlines. The delays were mainly caused by supplier quality problems related to a critical component in the forward fuselage assembly that ensures the safety of flight. Boeing also mis-drilled windscreen installation holes on four F-15EXs in this lot due to a design error. Boeing declined to comment on the quality issues highlighted in GAO’s report and referred questions to the Air Force. Boeing spokeswoman Deborah VanNierop confirmed that the only F-15EXs so far delivered to the Air Force are the two test aircraft that were delivered in spring 2021.
The F-15EX is an upgraded version of the fourth-generation Eagle fighter, with advanced avionics such as fly-by-wire controls and improved electronic warfare capabilities. The report noted that program officials thought Boeing could deliver the six F-15EXs in that lot between May and July, with two delivered per month, but Boeing and the federal Defense Boeing's analysis predicted it would be unable to deliver the first fighter in this batch until July, and the Defense Contract Management Agency concluded the last deliveries in the lot would probably not happen until September.
GAO warned that if delivery of these planes is delayed beyond July, it will be difficult to meet planned deadlines in 2023. The Air Force is now planning to buy 104 F-15EXs and requested money to buy 24 of the fighters in the proposed fiscal 2024 budget. The Air Force last year moved to scale back its F-15EX procurement in the FY23 budget, from the original 144 to 80.
GAO warned that a lack of enough procurement funding for the F-15EX could cause the program to be curtailed slightly below that already reduced 80. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a March budget briefing that the service had decided to partially reverse its decision to cut the F-15EX procurement to 80, bringing it back up to 104.