The US aerospace giant Boeing has sweetened its offer for Poland’s F-15EX fighters by adding a loyal-wingman drone and industrial cooperation.
Boeing first offered the F-15EX to Poland at the MSPO International Defence Industry Exposition in 2023, in response to Poland’s active interest in the aircraft.
“Poland’s interest in the F-15EX confirms its dedication to the preparedness and effectiveness of its military forces,” Tim Flood, Boeing’s senior director of Global Business Development for Europe and Americas, said in a statement at the time.
“The F-15EX offers superior interoperability, supportability, and affordability along with a robust industry plan that would support Poland’s goal of developing independent defense capabilities.”
However, with a deal still elusive two years later, Boeing has sweetened the F-15EX Eagle II offer by combining it with an industrial cooperation package for the Polish defense sector and the addition of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a loyal-wingman-type drone that could operate alongside the F-15EX in the future.
The offer was made as Boeing showcased the F-15EX to the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MND) during an event in Warsaw on October 29.
The F-15EX is the most advanced variant of the legacy F-15, which is the only aircraft in the world that has never been lost in combat.
Nonetheless, the Eagle II has had little success in the export market, with Israel being the only foreign customer to order a variant of the F-15EX, though Saudi Arabia has an “equally potent” F-15SA in its arsenal.
This has prompted a more aggressive pitch by Boeing to Poland, which has been mulling the purchase of 32 fighter jets for several years.
Boeing’s business development senior manager, Marissa Myers, recently told Defense News that the corporation is looking for partners with expertise in manufacturing, services, R&D, maintenance, repair, and overhaul, among other areas. “Poland already has MRO [Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul] capabilities to offer,” Myers said. “We have a couple of MoUs already signed with various companies. We’re also partnered with local universities. Hopefully, we can have a couple more partnerships come out of that.”
Myers did not elaborate on the subject of these MoUs in her interaction. However, reports suggest that GE Aerospace and Poland’s WZL-2 signed an MoU earlier this week to explore local maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the F110-GE-129 engine that powers the Boeing F-15EX fighter jet.
Earlier, Boeing had sweetened its F-15EX offer to Indonesia by promising 85% local production in the Southeast Asian country. The extent of local production that may have been promised to Warsaw, however, remains under wraps for now.
Myers also noted that Boeing and Poland have begun preliminary talks on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, “the most advanced and mature collaborative combat aircraft available in the market.”
Boeing first enhanced its offer for the F-15EX at the MSPO in September 2025 by adding the MQ-29 Ghost Bat, a loyal wingman unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for future manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities. This marked the first-ever public international marketing of Ghost Bat paired with F-15EX, building on US Air Force (USAF) tests of similar CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft) concepts.
The MQ-28 is a stealthy, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven drone designed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare (EW), and strike roles.
When integrated with the F-15EX, this ‘loyal wingman’ drone can extend the jet’s sensor range and survivability in contested airspace. Interestingly, it aligns with Poland’s “affordable mass” approach to airpower deterrence, which essentially calls for acquiring cost-effective assets rather than more expensive platforms.
#F15EX welcomed Polish Air Force Inspector Maj. Gen. pilot Ireneusz Nowak, Col. Sebastian Paluch and Lt. Col. pilot Łukasz Gradziński at our St. Louis site. They learned about the F-15EX's advanced capabilities, saw how the jet is built, and experienced its power firsthand. pic.twitter.com/xfz2RVGgw6
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) October 2, 2025
After the September MSPO offering, the Polish Ministry of National Defence (MON) requested detailed briefings with a potential Letter of Request (LoR) for the F-15EX+Ghost Bat package by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Rattled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland kick-started an extensive military modernization to bolster its combat capability and deter adversaries like Russia.
It signed a contract to buy 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft from South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in September 2022, and inked a deal with the US to upgrade its 48 F-16 C/D Block 52+ fighters to the F-16V standard earlier this year.
As acknowledged by Polish officials, the country aims to fill gaps in air dominance capabilities by increasing its fighter fleet to 160 aircraft across 10 squadrons.
In addition to the Boeing F-15EX, Poland is also considering the Eurofighter Typhoon and has not ruled out purchasing additional F-35A stealth fighters, in addition to the 32 already on order.
Poland’s deputy general commander of the Polish Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Cezary Wisniewski earlier indicated that the plan to purchase 32 new fighters was frozen until the 15-year planning document was finalised, which is expected to take a few months.
Nonetheless, representatives from Boeing continue to meet Polish business partners as part of their outreach to explore potential areas of collaboration on the F-15EX program.
Saudi Arabia’s airspace on Dec. 10. 2020. (via Twitter)
The Most Advanced Boeing Air Superiority Fighter
The most advanced version of the F-15 fighter jet, the F-15EX, can engage multiple targets simultaneously and execute a range of missions per sortie, including close air support, interdiction, and air superiority, as noted in an earlier information sheet.
The F-15EX lacks the stealth of fifth-generation US fighters like the F-22 Raptor and F-35. However, it still possesses remarkable combat capabilities and unmatched payload capacity, earning it the moniker “Bomb Truck.”
Although Poland is in the process of acquiring the stealthy F-35, which can penetrate air defenses, it is aware that the aircraft lacks the payload for saturation strikes. The potential acquisition of F-15EX, which can carry a larger payload, including 12 AMRAAM missiles, will provide an adequate complement to the stealthy F-35s.
The F-15EX Eagle II is designed to carry about 30,000 pounds (13,607 kilograms) of ammunition, including heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs, which can engage threats beyond visual range, among others. The payload also satisfies the need for long-range strikes and offers options for incorporating new weaponry.
For ground attack missions, it can be loaded with around 24 air-to-ground munitions, including stand-off weapons, cruise missiles, and smart bombs.
In essence, opting for the F-15EX would give Poland a robust, high-capacity “hammer” to pair with its F-35 “scalpel,” enhancing deterrence without over-relying on expensive-to-field stealth assets.
Additionally, with a combat radius of more than 1,000 kilometers and a top speed of Mach 2.5, the F-15EX can quickly reach deep into contested airspace, using external fuel tanks without sacrificing weapons. The aircraft would, therefore, help cover Poland’s vast eastern frontier and Baltic operations more effectively.
Equipped with the APG-82 AESA radar, EPAWSS electronic warfare suite, and fly-by-wire controls, the F-15EX offers superior sensor fusion and jamming resistance.
The reliability and effectiveness of the F-15EX are demonstrated by the F-15’s remarkable service record, which shows that fewer than two aircraft are lost per 100,000 flight hours. With more than 100 kills to its credit, no F-15 has ever been lost in air combat.
The integration of this aircraft with a loyal-wingman drone would further enhance mission capabilities. The twin-seater F-15EX could allow the pilot and a weapons systems officer (WSO) to control multiple Ghost Bats in real-time via secure data links. The Ghost Bat can be produced at a fraction of the cost of a manned fighter and can function as an attritable asset in a contested environment, boosting the survivability of the manned fighter jet.
Although the USAF remains the F-15EX’s main customer, Boeing has stepped up its efforts to sell the plane to foreign buyers to keep production lines running. It could leverage its decades-old ties with Poland to advance the aircraft’s “market penetration” in the country. As noted by the company in its own press release in 2023, “Boeing has been present in Poland for more than 30 years.”
In August 2024, Poland placed a $10 billion order for 96 Boeing Apache helicopters, making it the largest operator of the chopper after the United States. Additionally, Boeing has offered the KC-46 tanker to Warsaw, which would help augment the range of Polish fighters through aerial refuelling —an indispensable requirement in modern combat.
Whether Poland will reward its long association with Boeing and order the F-15EX, or reject it in favor of another alternative, remains to be seen.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari13 (at) outlook.com
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