WASHINGTON (Agencies): The first Boeing F-15E retrofitted with BAE Systems’ AN/ALQ-250(V)1 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) was delivered on 16 January to the US Air Force (USAF) at Lakenheath Air Force Base, Suffolk, England, according to a 17 January USAF statement.
“It has taken us a long time to get to this point, but this system is vital to our 21st century fighter force structure,” said Brigadier General Jason Voorheis, programme executive officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate, in the statement. “EPAWSS significantly improves the survivability and lethality of the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II, and the fact the first modifications are delivering to our front-line fighters at RAF [Royal Air Force] Lakenheath is even more critical.”
Two USAF F-15E units, the 492nd and 494th fighter squadrons, are based at RAF Lakenheath, where they operate alongside two squadrons of F-35As as part of the 48th Fighter Wing. It is not immediately clear which squadron took delivery of the EPAWSS-equipped F-15E. The USAF had not responded to questions at the time of publication.
EPAWSS replaces the F-15E’s 1980s-era Tactical Electronic Warfare Suite (TEWS), detecting electronic threats over a 360° radius and responding with appropriate countermeasures. The system also provides a degree of offensive jamming capability.
“The system architecture enables us to keep advancing the capability for many years via continual software updates and improvements,” said Lieutenant Colonel Matt Heil, the USAF’s EPAWSS materiel leader, in the statement.