The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on 10 September advanced its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 funding bill, which makes important investments in U.S. Defense Forces and supports programs necessary to protect critical interests of U.S. national security.

The FY2020 Department of Defense funding bill includes $694.9 billion, an increase of $20.5 billion above the FY2019 enacted level. The recommendation also includes the endorsement of the Air Force’s plan to buy the new F-15EX Advanced Eagle fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing.

Members of the Senate’s defense appropriations subcommittee recommends $992.4 million for 8 F-15EX aircraft, of which 2 test aircraft are funded in research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E), Air Force.

The F-15EX, commonly known as Strike Eagle on steroids due to a change in appearance, is the latest version of the world famous F-15 Eagle fighter jet. The new fighter would be equipped with better avionics and radars and would carry more than two dozen air-to-air missiles.

The improved version of F-15 will can carry the full array of air-to-air, air-to-ground and maritime strike weapons. The aircraft can engage a multitude of targets on any given mission.

The advanced F-15’s design architecture facilitates affordable, low-risk integration of new weapons.

A fully integrated electronic warfare suite provides a full spectrum of protection and enables dominant engagement of new and emerging threats. The F-15EX will be able to survive modern integrated air defense systems and seamlessly communicate with other sensors to deliver automated IR countermeasures for enhanced survivability.

The new, more powerful twin engines will provide the F-15EX with unrivaled speed and acceleration capabilities, allowing the pilot to get to the target faster.