Boeing Moves Up F-15 Delivery Schedule

Boeing will deliver 14 F-15K planes to South Korea in 2006, six more than the number that Boeing and the Korean Air Force had originally planned for the year, according to a military report released on April 10.

Four F-15Ks were delivered late last year, eight will be delivered this year, 16 will be delivered in 2007, and 12 more in 2008, for a total of 40 airplanes.

Boeing cited increased production efficiency for the scheduling change.

The Korean military is currently waiting for Boeing’s response to a revised delivery proposal that factors F-15K storage facilities like Eomchaeho into the delivery equation.

If Boeing accepts the terms, 14 F-15Ks will be delivered to Korea in 2006 and the delivery schedule for the rest will be accelerated as well.

The F-15Ks will enter active service in September 2007, but the Air Force is pushing for a Dokdo patrol deployment as early as the beginning of next year.

With a maximum speed of Mach 2.5, F-15Ks can arrive in Dokdo just eight minutes after takeoff.