WASHINGTON — Production mistakes and quality problems with Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II program have caused the fighter’s delivery schedule to slide by not less than six months, which could endanger its ability to satisfy key deadlines, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a brand new report.
Boeing originally expected to begin delivering its latest batch of F-15EX Eagle II fighters to the Air Force in December 2022, the federal watchdog wrote in its annual assessment of weapon systems, released Thursday.
Several production problems delayed the delivery of those six fighters in lot 1B, GAO said. Those delays were mainly attributable to what office known as “supplier quality problems related to a critical component within the forward fuselage assembly that ensures safety of flight.” The report didn’t provide further details on that component, but said quality problems were fixed by the point Boeing built the seventh and eighth F-15EXs.
Boeing also mis-drilled windscreen installation holes on 4 F-15EXs on this lot because the corporate used tooling with a design error, GAO said. Program officials told auditors the issue was caught before more planes were mis-drilled, and that Boeing will redrill the holes on affected aircraft before starting production on the second lot of fighters.
Boeing declined to comment to Defense News on the standard issues highlighted in GAO’s report, and referred inquiries to the Air Force. Defense News has reached out to the service for comment.
Boeing spokeswoman Deborah VanNierop confirmed Friday that the one F-15EXs to date delivered to the Air Force are the 2 test aircraft that were delivered in spring 2021, which were considered lot 1A.
Greater than two years later, the service remains to be waiting for the following batch of fighters.
The F-15EX is an upgraded version of the fourth-generation Eagle fighter, with advanced avionics equivalent to fly-by-wire controls and improved electronic warfare capabilities.
But those problems are having ripple effects on the F-15EX program, GAO said. Each lot 2 fighter is now delayed by two months consequently of the sooner lot’s problems, the report read, and delivery schedules are in peril of slipping further.
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 30 days. But Boeing and the federal Defense Contract Management Agency warned that more delays could occur, GAO said.
Boeing’s evaluation predicted it might be unable to deliver the primary fighter on this batch until July, and the second in August.
The Defense Contract Management Agency concluded the last deliveries within the lot would probably not occur until September due to the problems that cropped up to date.
GAO said that if delivery of those planes is delayed beyond July, it can be tough to satisfy planned deadlines in 2023, including the declaration of initial operational capability in July and full-rate production in October.
Boeing referred Defense News’ questions on the fighters’ schedule to the Air Force.
GAO also warned that cybersecurity vulnerabilities remain the F-15EX’s primary vulnerability. The fighter’s design was derived from versions of the F-15 that were sold to foreign militaries, GAO said, and weren’t designed to satisfy the Air Force’s own cybersecurity requirements.
Program officials told GAO that it’s working through the Defense Department’s six-phase process for assessing cybersecurity vulnerabilities on the F-15EX, with the primary 4 either already done or expected to be finished in early 2023. This system expected to complete the ultimate two phases on the aircraft delivered in lot 1B.
The Air Force is now planning to purchase 104 F-15EXs, and requested money to purchase 24 of the fighters within the proposed fiscal 2024 budget.
The Air Force last yr moved to reduce its F-15EX procurement within the FY23 budget, from the unique 144 to 80. This was intended to release funds for higher priority programs, GAO said.
The watchdog warned that a scarcity of enough procurement funding for the F-15EX could cause this system to be curtailed barely below that already reduced 80. A June 2022 cost estimate showed the Air Force wouldn’t find the money for for 80 fighters, and only find a way to purchase 78, GAO noted.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a March budget briefing that the service had decided to partially reverse its decision to chop the F-15EX procurement to 80, bringing it back as much as 104.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.