THE NEWS FROM Seoul that South Korea has probably selected the F-15SE in its FX-III fighter contest comes as a big boost for Boeing. Not only would this secure the future of the F-15 production line at St Louis past 2020. but it also casts doubt over export ambitions for the Lockheed Martin F-35. Boeing executives have subtly pressed customers, including the US Air Force, to realise that their advanced Eagle and Super Hornet offerings both provide viable alternatives to the F-35. The push to include stealthy weapons pods on both types, new large area display cockpits. AESA radars and embedded forward-looking infra-red sensors all offer JSF-like capabilities, albeit in much older core platforms, which are not inherently stealthy. US Air Force pilots have long suggested (off the record) that a Block 60 F-16 on steroids, or new Silent Eagles, would provide capabilities approaching those of the F-35. but with far lower program risks — and. as Korea has seemingly illustrated, at a more acceptable and predictable acquisition cost.
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