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2023-10-01

F-15EX,The Right Fit for Poland’s Needs

Boeing’s showcase of the F-15EX fighter aircraft to Poland as a potential U.S. Department of Defence Foreign Military Sales programme at the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition is a significant development with potential far-reaching implications.

Poland, as a NATO member, plays a crucial role in the defence of Eastern Europe. The F-15EX offers several advantages that can contribute to the strengthening of Poland’s national security and its commitment to the NATO Alliance.

The F-15EX is equipped with a variety of advanced weapons and sensors, making it a formidable threat to any adversary. It would also be able to operate in a variety of threat environments, including contested airspace. This would give Poland the ability to deter aggression and protect its airspace from attack.

The aircraft would also provide Poland with a number of economic benefits. The purchase would create jobs in the Polish defence industry and boost the country’s economy. It would also require ongoing maintenance and support, which would further benefit the Polish economy.

Local Talent

Boeing’s initiatives to cultivate a strong engineering foundation across its three Polish locations (Warsaw, Gdańsk, and Rzeszow) not only support Poland’s technological progress but also resonate with the nation’s ambition to cultivate autonomous defence capabilities.

Tim Flood, senior director, Global Business Development for Europe and Americas, explained: “Poland’s interest in the F-15EX confirms its dedication to the preparedness and effectiveness of its military forces. The F-15EX offers superior interoperability, supportability and affordability along with a robust industry plan that would support Poland’s goal of developing independent defence capabilities.”

Rob Novotny, director, Business Development for Boeing’s F-15 programme, added: “The F-15EX is the world’s most advanced fighter with unmatched capability, lethality and survivability and is the right fit to strengthen Poland’s security needs. Through enhanced interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces, capacity for technology growth and a 20,000+ hour economic operational airframe life, Poland can expect the F-15EX to win in existing and future threat environments.”

Backbone Fighter

Boeing has invested significantly in the F-15EX, making it a highly capable multirole fighter aircraft in production today, equipped with fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, an all-glass digital cockpit, advanced mission systems, software capabilities, and the ability to carry hypersonic weapons.

The F-15EX is a ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class payload, range and speed. Designed to deliver value to the U.S. Air Force, the aircraft will be a backbone fighter for the service — not just today, but for the next several decades. Boeing engineers created hundreds of digital aircraft before cutting any metal, and flew thousands of hours before the first test flight. The result is an aircraft with a digital backbone, open system architecture and the capacity to carry hypersonic weapons, making it a key element of the U.S. Air Force’s tactical fighter fleet.

The F-15EX’s notable feature is its adaptability to incorporate future technologies, supported by the F-15 Mission Systems software developers’ creation of an autonomous test environment and the groundwork for Open Mission Systems (OMS) architecture, enabling DevSecOps container integration and third-party application support for modern defence missions.

OMS-compliant technology establishes a standard interface for component interaction, enabling the rapid development and deployment of new features as containers and microservices on the F-15EX.

Software containers package software code allows it to run independently of any infrastructure or, in Boeing’s case, any platform. Containerisation is a popular concept, gaining wide use in software development. Containers function like a smartphone app for the mission computer, as adapted by the software defence industry.

Boeing has demonstrated the ability to deploy the same software container on F-15EX aircraft without any recompilation. The containerised service is the same and agnostic to the platform or mission computer hardware. The container is processed through OMS-compliant messages.

The F-15EX is in production with two aircraft delivered to the U.S. Air Force. Indonesia recently became the eighth country to select the F-15 and will become the first export customer of the latest FX variant when the sale is finalised.

Polish Connection

Boeing’s 30-year presence in Poland, employing over 1,000 people across three locations, illustrates its commitment. It has proved to be a crucial partner in the Polish aviation industry, fostering strong relationships with local communities, industry, airlines, the Polish Government, and the Polish Armed Forces.

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