The contract signed in January has a maximum value of $2.8 billion and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2037. An initial tranche of $540 million was released at signing, with all funding provided by the Republic of Korea.
Modernization work will be conducted at Boeing’s facilities in St. Louis, the company’s main production and assembly center for the F-15 Eagle program. The upgrade program was approved by the South Korean government in December 2024, although there is currently no information on when the intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the United States was signed.
According to South Korean media, the first two upgraded aircraft, preliminarily designated F-15K+, are expected to be delivered by the end of 2028. A total of 59 aircraft will receive AN/APG-82(v)1 radars, AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS electronic warfare systems, new central mission computers, and redesigned cockpits with large-area liquid crystal displays.
These changes will bring the aircraft close to the F-15EX Eagle II standard. South Korea originally purchased 61 F-15K Slam Eagles in two production batches ordered in 2002 and 2008, with two aircraft lost during service in June 2006 and April 2018.
The F-15K Slam Eagle currently represents one of the key strike assets of South Korea’s military aviation. Integrated with weapons such as the Taurus KEPD-350 cruise missile, the aircraft are expected to provide critical support for Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters, following an approach similar to that used by the United States, Israel, and Japan.
