Air Force Wants Eight Upgraded Boeing Fighters Along With F-35s
- Five-year plan calls for buying 80 of the F-15X planes
- Rival Lockheed talks down plane’s capability versus its F-35
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The U.S. Air Force’s next budget will request funds for eight new F-15 fighter-bombers from Boeing Co., beefing up its inventory with an upgraded version of a plane it last bought in 2001, even as it pursues the more advanced F-35 from rival Lockheed Martin Corp.
The F-15s will be proposed in the fiscal 2020 budget, expected around March 11, as the first of a potential 80-plane purchase over the next five years, said people familiar with the Air Force’s plan.