In a surprise move this spring, the US Air Force backed away from its plan to build the world’s first sixth-generation fighter under the Next Generation Air Dominance program. Service leaders cited the shocking high cost – several hundred million dollars apiece – of the high-tech jets.NGAD isn’t necessarily dead. USAF leaders may yet find a way to save NGAD – perhaps by simplifying its complex and pricey engine.But if the Air Force can’t find a way to pay for the new jet whilealsopaying for all its other priorities – new stealth bombers, more Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters and hundreds of next-generation nuclear ballistic missiles – the answer to its future fighter problem is staring it in the face.The Air Force is already buying new F-15EX Eagle II fighters from Boeing, albeit in small numbers. The two-person, twin-engine F-15EX is the latest version of the classic F-15 Eagle, which first flew in 1972 and was the apex predator of the skies in its day. It probably has a lot of t...
