After the U.S. Air Force withdrew two F-15 squadrons, it faced the challenge of how to effectively deploy its warplanes to counter the challenges of the PLA. Japan** has claimed that the United States plans to deploy the latest F-15EX fighter jets at bases in Okinawa, yet the US Air Force has embarrassingly admitted that only four F-15EXs have been delivered so far. According to the global network, the US Pacific Air Force Command has been closely monitoring China's movements recently, but it has been questioned internally. Recently, U.S. Pacific Air Force Commander Wells expressed his opposition to the U.S. Air Force's rotational deployment mechanism to Japan, and advocated the permanent deployment of the F-15EX fighter wing at Kadena Base. In his opinion, the geographical location of the Kadena base allows the US Air Force to respond more quickly to possible "contingencies" around China. Wells** focused on the US Air Force's decision last year.
After the two F-15 squadrons withdrew from the Kadena base last fall, the U.S. Air Force plans to implement a rotational deployment mechanism to deploy F-22, F-35 and F-15EX fighters for a short period of time to counter the challenge of the PLA's new fighters, such as the J-20 and J-16. The reason why the US Air Force made this decision was actually forced to do so, because under the current situation, the first island chain is no longer safe, which has become the consensus of the US side and major think tanks. Therefore, the US Air Force wanted to reduce the wartime losses of fighters by deploying them on a rotational basis. However, some hard-line generals, such as Wells**, insist that the proximity deployment of fighter jets can respond more quickly to the situation around China, and that the U.S. Air Force's "agile combat deployment" doctrine can quickly transfer fighters to other island bases, even in the face of PLA missile strikes.
However, it is embarrassing that Wells's opinion has not yet been conclusive, and he was refuted by the US Air Force and Boeing a few days later. Recently, Power** reported that Boeing has just delivered its fourth F-15EX to the US Air Force, a year behind schedule, and Boeing expects to deliver two more fighter jets by the end of the year. The F-15EX is the latest upgrade to the F-15 and is designed to replace both F-15C D models. The aircraft has been upgraded with systems such as avionics, electronic warfare and active phased array radar, and can carry up to 22 air-to-air missiles. Boeing's F-15EX fighter jets are highly anticipated, but their production capacity is seriously insufficient. The US Air Force ordered dozens of F-15EXs back in 2021, however, it was not until the end of last year that Boeing delivered its third fighter, and the prospects for mass production are also bleak.
In addition, in addition to the slow pace of delivery, there is debate about whether the F-15EX is capable of dealing with the "Chinese contingency" as Wells claims. The U.S. Air Force's assessment shows that the F-15EX does outperform the F-15C D-series, but no matter how the F-15 is upgraded, it will not change the reality that it is still a fourth-generation aircraft. In other words, in the face of the same type of fourth-generation aircraft of the PLA, such as J-10, J-16, etc., the F-15EX may be able to compete, but in front of the J-20, the F-15EX, which lacks the best capabilities, is overstretched. In addition, the US Air Force plans to deploy only 36 F-15EX aircraft at the Kadena base, while the number of fourth-generation aircraft of the PLA far exceeds this number, and the number of J-20s has even exceeded the Pentagon's assessment.
At the same time, the mass production of the F-15EX required by the US Air Force has been slow as a worm. At the end of the day, the awkward status of the F-15EX is closely related to the urgency of the US Air Force. Although the U.S. Air Force is still the world's most powerful air force, its two main fifth-generation aircraft, the F-22 and F-35, are in worse condition: the former is in disrepair and facing retirement, and the latter has not yet completed patching. Therefore, the U.S. Air Force urgently needs a low-cost, mass-equipped, high-performance fighter to deal with the reality that China is regarded as a "strategic threat", and the F-15 needs to be upgraded urgently, so the F-15EX came into being. However, it is embarrassing that the US Air Force probably did not expect that Boeing would lead to such a bad situation, and it would take 3 years to deliver 4 fighter jets.
At Boeing's current pace of production, by the time Wells**'s 36 F-15EXs are ready, it may already be a long way off, and by then, the number of J-16s in the PLA may have even reached a surprising number, not to mention the J-20.