Israel's Fighter Jet Fleet Is Getting An $8.6B Upgrade From Boeing
On December 29, 2025, the United States Department of War announced an $8.6 billion contract awarded to the Boeing Company to design, test, and produce 25 new F-15IA fighter jets for the Israeli Air Force. The total "cost-plus-fixed-fee" hybrid contract award has a ceiling of $8,577,700,000.00, rounded up to $8.6 billion. The contract award announcement obligates $840 million in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds and specifies an expected completion date for the aircraft order of December 31, 2035. However, the Israeli Air Force has the option to add another 25 F-15IA fighter jets to the order, a move that would extend the timeline for contract completion.
While the addition of 25, or 50, F-15IA aircraft to the Israeli Air Force's existing F-15 arsenal won't make it the military with the most F-15 fighter jets, it will bolster the country's quest for military superiority in the Middle East. The F-15IA, an Israeli-specific variant of Boeing's newest F-15EX Eagle fighter jet, has a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds, a 42.8-foot wingspan, and a top speed approaching Mach 2.5. Compared to the previous F-15D, the next-gen F-15EX adds 13,000 pounds of maximum takeoff weight and about 270 mph to the top speed. The upgraded specs come, in part, thanks to the pair of powerful jet engines provided by General Electric.
Where the jets are being built and how much they cost
Boeing will build the twin-engine F-15IA in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the site that saw McDonnell Douglas roll out the original F-15 Eagle fighter jet in 1972. Boeing took over production of the St. Louis F-15 factory, and all McDonnell Douglas programs, when it took over McDonnell Douglas in 1997, in what is often described as a merger of the two companies.
The contract announcement came on the heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, a resort owned by Trump, in Florida. The award finalizes an initial $5.2 billion November 2024 agreement for the aircraft. The project uses funds from Foreign Military Financing (FMF), part of a $38 billion military assistance package pledged to Israel by former President Obama in 2016 for the 2019 to 2028 fiscal years ($3.8B per year). It's predicted that funds from FMF will also allow Israel to purchase additional U.S. military assets, such as F-35 fighter jets.