Saudi Arabian Firm to Help Convert F-15A Fighter Jets to F-15SA Configuration

Alsalam Aerospace Industries of Saudi Arabia has been awarded a $59,691,840 contract line items order for the conversion of six mission capable Saudi F-15S fighter aircraft to a F-15SA configuration for the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Services include program management, conversion touch labor, over-and-above, and kit storage. Work will be performed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 3, 2020, a US DoD announcement said.

The F-15SA aircraft come equipped with the APG-63V3 AESA radar, a digital glass cockpit, Helmet Mouted Cueing System, Digital Electronic Warfare System/Common Missile Warning System (DEWS/CMWS), IRST (Infra Red Search and Track) system, and able to carry a wide array of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry, including the AIM-120C7 AMRAAM and the AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, the AGM-84 SLAM-ERs, the AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) and the GBU-39 SDBs (Small Diameter Bombs) on 11 external hardpoints.

The F-15SA, derived from the F-15E Strike Eagle, is said to be the most advanced Eagle variant ever produced and is considered a 4.5 generation aircraft. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has officially received its first Boeing F-15SA multirole jets in a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the King Faisal Air College in Riyadh on Jan. 25, 2017.