Boeing has more than 700 aircraft and helicopters operating in the Asia-Pacific region, and the American aerospace giant envisages a market there for defence and services that is worth US$65 billion.
Bernd Peters, Boeing Defense & Space Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, conveyed this information on 3 February, the opening day of Singapore Airshow.
One of Boeing’s popular regional platforms is the F-15 fighter jet, which has three Asia-Pacific customers – Japan, Singapore and South Korea. However, Peters confirmed that another prospective customer, Indonesia, is now essentially dead in the water.
“In terms of our partnership with Indonesia, it’s no longer an active campaign for us.,” Bernd admitted. Jakarta had announced a memorandum of understanding with Boeing for up to 24 F-15EX fighters back in August 2023, but there has been no traction since then.
Bernd added, “With that being said, we remain deeply committed to the government of Indonesia and the military needs. We have an installed base of Apaches as well as WaveGliders; we’re going to continue to support those products.”
This admission comes as no surprise, for Jakarta routinely announces agreements for various pieces of military equipment, but which later fizzle out for lack of money. This appears to be the case with Indonesia’s short-lived interest in the F-15EX.
Instead, Bernd said Boeing “remains deeply committed to the US Air Force”, and that its priority is to get to a place where it can deliver it 24 F-15EX Eagle II fighters annually.
Japan is upgrading F-15J fighters to Japan Super Interceptor status via a direct commercial sale with Boeing and a Foreign Military Sale case. This effort installs the AN/APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array radar, new mission computers and BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS). The F-15Js will gain the ability to fire weapons like the JASSM-ER standoff missile.
Boeing earlier told Asian Military Review, “The F-15 upgrades are not just another upgrade programme; it’s a total transformation of the jet, delivering contemporary capabilities to Japan at par with those in the current-production F-15,” i.e. the F-15EX.
These modernised F-15Js – 54 aircraft according to Japan’s Defense White Paper published last year – will serve as a vital bridge for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force until the GCAP platform is available.
South Korea is the latest nation to confirm an upgrade programme for its fleet of 59 F-15K fighters. On 30 January 2026, the US Department of War announced that Boeing had received a US$2.8 billion contract to support upgrades to the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (ROKAF) F-15K fleet.
The notification stated, “This contract provides for the design and development of an integrated suite of aircraft systems to support modification of the F-15K aircraft…” Work will be conducted in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2037.
Turbo Sjogren, Vice President and General Manager, Government Services, Boeing Global Services, would not be drawn on what the South Korean programme entails. “I’d like to give you the details of exactly what’s being upgraded on the aircraft, but that’s obviously something, as you can imagine, that’s rather sensitive. But here’s what we can tell you. The aircraft have been out there for 20 years, so a lot of obsolescence issues, but there’s also opportunities to upgrade the cockpit.”
However, if a notification from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency dated 19 November 2024 gives an indication, South Korea’s modernization effort is expected to be similar to Japan’s programme.
Indeed, the USA approved a US$6.2 billion sale for the F-15K upgrade back then. It included Advanced Display Core Processor II mission system computers, AN/APG-82(V)1 radars, the AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS and AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems.
Singapore is expected to eventually upgrade its F-15SG fleet too.
by Gordon Arthur
