South Korea Opts To Upgrade 'SLAM Eagles'

Boeing will upgrade the 59 surviving F-15K Eagles operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). A sole-source, hybrid foreign military sales/direct commercial sale contract worth $2.8 billion has been awarded by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) as part of a wider ROKAF modernization drive.

Initiated in 2022, the F-15K+ update program received U.S. foreign military sales approval in November 2024. The contract was announced by the U.S. Department of Defense on January 30, and the program is expected to run for 11 years.

Under the deal, Boeing will design the upgrade and supply equipment, but the majority of the physical upgrade work will be performed in Korea by local partners. A cockpit upgrade is part of the modernization, which will feature a new electronic warfare suite, AESA radar, and an updated mission computer.

Korea acquired 61 F-15Ks, the first 40 of which were powered by the General Electric F110 engine, while the final batch of 21 featured Pratt & Whitney F100s. They are stationed at Daegu Air Base with three squadrons. The first was delivered in 2005.

The F-15K is known as the "SLAM Eagle" on account of its ability to carry the AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Extended Range (SLAM-ER), a derivative of the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile that also figures in the F-15K's arsenal. The ability to carry such heavy weapons, including the Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile, was a key factor in the decision to upgrade the Eagles. The ROKAF’s other fighter types—the F-35, upgraded F-16V, and forthcoming KF-21—are not well-suited to long-range missions with heavy weapons.

In the meantime, Japan is pursuing a major upgrade for 96 of its younger aircraft to the Japanese Super Interceptor standard with APG-82(V)1 AESA radar and many other enhancements. Singapore, the third regional user, has a relatively young fleet of GE-powered F-15SGs that was purchased with a high level of advanced equipment. Until the arrival of the F-35, the F-15SG remains the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s most potent fighter asset.

However, the prospect of Indonesia joining the ranks of Asia-Pacific Eagle users is now bleak, with Boeing declaring in Singapore on Tuesday that it was “no longer an active campaign.” Indonesia had formally committed in 2023 to buying up to 24 F-15INDs, a version of the F-15EX Eagle II currently in production for the U.S. Air Force. The deal has subsequently shown no signs of concrete progress, while Indonesia placed firm orders with Dassault for the Rafale.