The aircraft left the Boeing St. Louis facility on Aug. 16 and made stops in Palmdale, Calif., Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, before arriving in Korea.
"We are pleased to receive the latest three F-15K Slam Eagles, F-15K 51, 52 and 53, from Boeing," said Lt. Col. Tae Uk Kim, Commander of the 110th Squadron, 11th Fighter Wing, ROKAF. "The F-15K is one of our most important assets in defense of the peninsula. We are satisfied with the continued on-schedule, quality deliveries of our F-15K Slam Eagles from Boeing."
Boeing delivered the first six of 21 F-15Ks it is producing under the Next Fighter II contract in 2010, followed by two in April and two more in May. The remaining eight aircraft will be delivered through April 2012.
"Boeing has a demonstrated record of on-time, on-cost deliveries to the ROKAF," said Roger Besancenez, Boeing F-15 Program vice president. "We're proud of that record, and equally proud of Boeing's relationship with Korean industry, which includes major work sharing and partnerships on both commercial and defense products. Our long-term cooperative relationship enables Boeing and Korean industry to ensure the ROKAF continues to fly a superior multi-role aircraft in defense of Korea."
Six of the new F-15K Slam Eagles are scheduled to participate in an advanced aerial combat training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in late January.
The F-15K is an advanced variant of the combat-proven F-15E. Equipped with the latest technological upgrades, it is extremely capable, survivable and maintainable. The aircraft's service life is planned through 2040, with technology insertions and upgrades throughout its life cycle. Boeing completed delivery of 40 Next Fighter I F-15K aircraft to the ROKAF in October 2008 Published by HT Syndication with permission from Daily Pak Banker
