South Korean firm to supply advanced displays for Air Force’s new F-15EX fighters
A South Korean defense technology firm will supply advanced cockpit displays for the U.S. Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet and South Korea’s F-15K Slam Eagle under a new deal with Boeing.
Hanwha Systems announced Thursday that it had signed a contract with the U.S. aircraft manufacturer to provide Eagle Large-Area Displays for both jets.
The upgraded display consolidates information previously spread across multiple cockpit screens into a single large touchscreen, giving pilots quicker access to critical data, the company said in a news release.
The system is derived from the multifunction display used in South Korea’s KF-21 fighters and will be “designed to suit the mission environment of the F-15EX,” according to the release.
The agreement is the first contract under a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2024 by Boeing and South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration to expand cooperation between the two countries, Hanwha said.
A spokesman for the administration declined to provide additional details by phone Friday. Some South Korean government officials speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
The multirole F-15EX, while not a stealth aircraft, features next-generation avionics and networking capabilities and can fly faster, farther and carry a larger payload than earlier F-15 variants, according to Boeing.
In July 2024, the Air Force announced plans to permanently station 36 F-15EX fighters on Okinawa to replace Kadena Air Base’s aging fleet of F-15C/D aircraft. The move is part of a broader effort to deploy more advanced combat aircraft across Japan. The first F-15EX is expected to arrive between March and June next year.
The first operational F-15EX aircraft were unveiled in June at Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon. Deliveries resumed recently after production was halted for more than three months by a strike at Boeing’s St. Louis facility, according to a Monday news release from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.
South Korea’s F-15K Slam Eagle is a variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle. Initially fielded for air-to-air missions, it later transitioned to multirole operations following the introduction of the F-15E derivative in 1988, according to the South Korean air force.
