According to Harrison Kass, “The State Department has approved the sale of Boeing’s new F-15EX to Israel. The $18 billion sale consists of 50 brand new F-15EXs and upgrades to 25 existing Israeli F-15s.” But the probability that Boeing can deliver on this order is very much in doubt, especially in the wake of all the problems the corporation has struggled with—both in its civil aviation division as well as its spaceflight department.

Clearly, there are systemic problems within the company and the Israelis should be questioning the wisdom of their decision to purchase these systems from the embattled American aerospace firm.

The strategic stakes 

Israel has been engaged in a massive regional war since the horrific Iran-backed Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023. From the Gaza Strip to Syria to Lebanon—and even Iran itself—Israeli forces have been engaged in round-the-clock conflict in an attempt to crush Hamas and prevent future rounds of terrorism from these malign actors.

As Israel’s closest ally, the United States continues to provide unfettered aid to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This, of course, has come with its own bit of controversy in the West, in which many have come out against Israel for its military action.

So, not only is Israel entering into an agreement with a very weak Boeing but it is, more generally, relying upon a United States that has become more skeptical of its alliance with Israel. It’s not a tenable scenario. What’s more, it’s not even a good move.

The F-15 in general is a phenomenal American warplane, and the F-15EX Eagle II promises to be an extraordinary platform. Its designers have dubbed it a “fourth-generation+” bird. Others, meanwhile, have described the F-15EX as a flying “missile truck” because of its impressive armaments package.

Yet, the F-15EX is still a fourth-generation warplane in an era when fifth-generation warplanes are already flying.

Israel needs fifth-generation warplanes 

For instance, the Israelis possess a force of specialized F-35 Lightning II planes (the F-35I). These birds were used with great success against distant Houthi targets in Yemen. However, there is now grave concern that the recent Iranian missile attack against the Nevatim Air Base in Israel where many of these units were housed may have either damaged or destroyed the F-35I arsenal (this is heavily disputed by Israeli sources).

Even if these claims that the F-35Is were damaged are true, Israel should take the time and spend the money to reconstitute that force as it is far more capable than the F-15EX.

Further, Israel should insist that America sell its vaunted F-22A Raptor to the Israelis. There are a few reasons why this hasn’t yet happened. The first is that the U.S. Congress will not allow the F-22 to be sold to any foreign power because it is so much more advanced than anything else in the world. The second reason is that the production line supporting the F-22 was canceled prematurely in 2010 by former President Barack Obama for budgetary reasons.

Selling this system to Israel, though, would allow for that production line (a costly affair) to be reconstituted—at cost. Plus, the Israelis would have decisive advantages over their regional foes if they had a force, however small, of F-22s at their disposal. This would put the Israelis light-years ahead of their regional foes and make them more dependent on the United States at a time when Israeli leaders have reason to question the sustainability of their country’s relationship with the United States.

There’s a problem

Boeing is having trouble fulfilling the order of F-15EXs. At two per month, for an order of fifty, the war might be over before that force is fully prepared for war. If that’s the case, it begs the question as to why the Israelis would even waste their time (and money) on a system that is inherently less capable than either of America’s two fifth-generation warplanes. Israel should either buy more F-35s from the United States or use all its diplomatic leverage and economic incentives to induce Washington to sell Tel Aviv the F-22.

The F-15EX Eagle II is simply not worth the time, money, or effort that Israel is putting into purchasing the system at this critical juncture for the tiny country.

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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