The F-35 can’t deliver on time. The F-15EX production line was kneecapped by a strike. And the Air Force needs both — desperately. Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina is pushing an amendment into the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would authorise multiyear procurement contracts for both fighters simultaneously. If it passes, it locks in years of guaranteed purchases, drives down unit costs, and gives Boeing and Lockheed the production certainty they need to hire, invest, and deliver. The timing is not coincidental. The Air Force just doubled its F-15EX buy from 129 to 267 aircraft — a move driven directly by repeated delays to the F-35’s critical Block 4 upgrade. The F-35 programme is stuck: the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware is late, Block 4 software is in limbo, and new jets are reportedly being delivered without their intended new radar. Meanwhile, the F-15EX line at Boeing’s St. Louis plant is still recovering from a months-long strike in 2025 that slowed deliveries. Multiyear contracts are Washington’s way of saying: we’re serious about buying, so give us a better price.

Why the F-15EX Fleet Doubled

Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programmes, was blunt: the F-35’s delays drove the decision. The Block 4 upgrade — which adds new weapons, sensors, and electronic warfare capabilities — was supposed to be the F-35’s leap to full combat relevance. Instead, it is years behind schedule. The Pentagon now says it can accelerate Block 4 to 2030, which means another four years of waiting.

The Air Force cannot wait. It needs fighters at Kadena in Japan, at European bases facing Russia, and in the Middle East. The F-15EX — a modernised Strike Eagle with the latest radar, electronic warfare suite, and a 29,000-pound payload — fills the gap. It is not stealthy, but it is available, proven, and lethal.

The Industrial Base Problem

Both production lines are in trouble. Boeing’s F-15EX factory in St. Louis was shut down for months during a machinists’ strike in 2025. Even after work resumed, the plant cannot yet produce two F-15EXs per month — the rate required under contract. A multiyear deal would give Boeing the guaranteed demand to justify expanding production capacity. Lockheed’s F-35 line in Fort Worth faces a different challenge. The company is producing jets, but without the TR-3 hardware, they are being delivered in a degraded configuration. Some are sitting in storage awaiting retrofit. A multiyear contract for F-35s would give Lockheed certainty that the orders won’t be cut when Congress gets frustrated with Block 4 delays.

What Happens Next

Budd’s amendment still needs to survive the NDAA markup process, which means winning support from both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. Multiyear procurement authority has bipartisan appeal — it is one of the few defence issues where fiscal hawks and defence hawks agree. The question is whether Congress will commit to buying both fighters on parallel multiyear tracks, or choose one. The Air Force has made its preference clear: it needs both. The F-35 for the high-end stealth fight. The F-15EX for everything else. And both lines need stability to deliver. Sources: Air & Space Forces Magazine, Breaking Defense, Defense News