Eagle upgrades

The major sale of hardware to Saudi Arabia announced this week by the Obama administration has actually been in the works for well over a year, and if you don't think the timing of the announcement has anything to do with Iran, you're not following closely. (The reasons for the delays are more complicated, but lest we digress...)

Eighty-four new F-15SAs - brand new Saudi strike versions - are the essential part of the deal, though the plan to upgrade another seventy existing F-15s isn't too shabby either. The aircraft have a variety of upgrades over the "old" F-15s, most notably in radar and weapons capabilities.

By the time this contract is fulfilled - which of course will take several years - the Saudi air force will be flying most advanced fleet of Eagles on the planet. I'm already looking forward to the mock duels between the Saudi Eagles and F-35s . . .

The present F-15Ss are fairly capable on their own, as the video here shows: