Japans F-15J blir Super Interceptor - Tyler Rogoway

The U.S. government has approved the potential sale of a major upgrade package for a significant portion of Japan's F-15J Eagle fleet that would bring them up to a standard called the Japanese Super Interceptor, or JSI. Jets in this configuration would get new active electronically scanned array radars, improved mission computers, updated electronic warfare suites, and more.

The U.S. State Department approved the sale on Oct. 29, 2019, and the U.S. military's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) subsequently notified Congress and issued a public notice. The possible deal, which covers 98 of the Japan Air Self Defense Force's around 200 F-15Js, has an estimated value of $4.5 billion. It is important to note that this announcement does not automatically mean that the Japanese government will actually proceed with this purchase and that it would also have to negotiate the final terms of any relevant contracts. That being said, Japan has been publicly looking to upgrade at least a portion of its F-15J fleet for over a year and 2previous reports have already indicated the country's preference for many of the systems described in the DSCA announcement, including Raytheon's AN/APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and BAE Systems' AN/ALQ-239 Digital Electronic Warfare System (DEWS).