Air Force denies it may buy new F-15s

An Air Force spokesman on Wednesday denied a report that the service is considering buying new F-15 fighter jets.

That would be a tantalizing possibility for national defense strategy and Robins Air Force Base, which has worldwide responsibility for management and depot maintenance of F-15s.

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report last week quoted an unnamed Air Force official as saying that the service was considering buying 72 F-15s, F-16s or F-18s due to the cost overruns of the F-35.

The Air Force has not purchased new F-15s since 2004, but the Boeing fighter is still being made for foreign customers. However, the production line is scheduled to end in 2019.

Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick emailed a statement to The Telegraph on Wednesday denying any plans to buy new F-15s.

"At this time the Air Force has no plans to acquire 72 new F-15s or F-16s, although the Air Force is always looking at options to be prepared for a dynamic global security environment," the email stated.

Randy Jackson, a Boeing spokesman, declined to comment on whether the Air Force has discussed buying new F-15s. However, he did say the current F-15 in production, called the Advanced F-15, has significantly more capability than any F-15 being flown by the U.S. Air Force.

A story posted on Flight Global's website Wednesday also quoted Bill LaPlante, the outgoing acquisition chief of the Air Force, as denying the Aerospace Daily & Defense Report story.

"That story was news to me," LaPlante said. "We're always struggling to get the production rate as high as we can get it on F-35. That's as true as saying it's cold outside. It's always true."

To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 478-256-9725.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Air Force denies it may buy new F-15s ."