The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. In 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) and Boeing discussed the F-15X or Advanced F-15, a proposed single-seat variant based on the F-15QA to replace USAF F-15C/Ds. Improvements included the AMBER (Advanced Missile and Bomb Ejector Rack) system to carry up to 22 air-to-air missiles, infrared search and track, advanced avionics and electronic warfare equipment, AESA radar, and revised structure with a service life of 20,000 hours. Single- and two-seat variants were proposed, called F-15CX and F-15EX respectively, with identical capabilities. The USAF opted for the two-seat variant, which can be flown either by a single pilot or by a pilot and WSO for complex missions and, someday, controlling collaborative combat aircraft. One reason for this decision is that only two–seat F-15 models remained in production. General characteristics Performance Data from Air and Space Forces Magazine[30] General characteristics Crew: 1 or 2 (pilot and weapon systems officer) Length: 63 ft 9.6 in (19.446 m) Wingspan: 42 ft 9.6 in (13.045 m) Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) Wing area: 608 sq ft (56.5 m2) Airfoil: root: NACA 64A006.6; tip: NACA 64A203 Empty weight: 31,700 pounds (14,400 kg) Max takeoff weight: 81,000 pounds (37,000 kg) Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan, 17,155 lbf (76.31 kN) thrust each dry, 29,500 lbf (131 kN) with afterburner[31][32] Performance Maximum speed: 1,434 kn (1,650 mph; 2,656 km/h)/Mach 2.5+ at high altitude Combat range: 687 nmi (791 mi; 1,272 km) Ferry range: 2,600 nmi (3,000 mi; 4,800 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m) G limits: +9 Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s) + Thrust/weight: 0.93 Armament Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.79 in) M61 Vulcan 6-barreled gatling cannon, with 500 rounds of ammunition Hardpoints: 4 wing pylons with 23 total hardpoints, fuselage pylons, bomb racks on CFTs with a capacity of 29,500 pounds (13,400 kg) of external fuel and ordnance Missiles: Air-to-air missiles:[33] 12× AIM-9 Sidewinder 12× AIM-120 AMRAAM 12× AIM-260 JATM (to be integrated) Avionics Radar: Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar Targeting pods: LANTIRN or Sniper Infra-red search and track: Lockheed Martin Legion Pod[34][35] Countermeasures: BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) - combined electronic warfare/electronic countermeasures pod[36]