The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has established a dedicated EPAWSS Speedline at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex to accelerate deployment of the F-15E Strike Eagle’s new defense family.
The U.S. Air Force is taking steps to accelerate deployment of the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survival System (EPAWSS) on the F-15E Strike Eagle. In a May 26, 2026, press release, the Air Force announced that the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has established a dedicated EPAWSS Speedline at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia.
EPAWSS Speedline will receive its first F-15Es, scheduled for modification, in June 2026. The service said the line is independent and will significantly accelerate the installation and fielding of next-generation electronic warfare (EW) capabilities on the F-15E Strike Eagle.
Before Speedline was built, EPAWSS upgrades were included in the F-15E’s scheduled Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) cycle. The Air Force noted that while this was an efficient method for routine depot operations, it was limited by the jet’s standard maintenance schedule, which slowed upgrade progress.
Speedline operates independently of the standard F-15E PDM line, eliminating limitations. The service says this “provides the program with the flexibility it needs to complete installation of this critical defense system on aircraft whose PDM may not be completed for another five to seven years.”
“The F-15E Strike Eagle remains the cornerstone of our tactical air power and deep strike capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Heil, F-15 Program Office, EPAWSS Materiel Leader. “The integration of an advanced electronic warfare suite, such as the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, ensures that the F-15E not only survives, but can actively disrupt and dismantle enemy kill chains in the most contested and electromagnetically dense environments. We are not only extending the life of this platform, but we are aggressively expanding its lethality and survivability to ensure it can dominate the modern battlespace.”
upgrade
The first modifications to the F-15E Strike Eagle, specifically the aircraft of the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath, England, began in May 2023. The first two converted aircraft were delivered to the UK base in January 2025.
Earlier that same month, EPAWSS also entered full-rate production. The Air Force completed Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) of EPAWSS for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II in early 2024.
This system is factory installed as standard issue on the new F-15EX and is being retrofitted to the F-15E to replace obsolete components of existing tactical electronic warfare systems. In total, the Air Force plans to retrofit 99 F-15Es and equip all F-15EXes with EPAWSS.
Previously, EPAWSS had only installed Strike Eagles, in addition to the Eagle II, assigned to Eglin AFB, Florida, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. This F-15E was dedicated to development and operational testing.
AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS
The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System is a state-of-the-art self-protection system designed to enable the F-15 to detect, identify, locate, deny, degrade, disrupt and defeat air and surface-to-air threats while operating in highly contested environments. This system replaces the previous self-protection suite installed on the Strike Eagle.
EPAWSS is fully integrated with radar warning, geolocation, and enhanced chaff and flare capabilities to detect and defeat ground and air threats in signal-dense and highly contested environments. This allows the system to freely maneuver and deeper penetration into the combat space protected by modern integrated air defense systems.
“EPAWSS is a leap forward in technology that increases the lethality and warfighting capabilities of the F-15E and F-15EX in competitive and challenging environments against advanced threats,” said Maj Bryant “Jager” Baum, EPAWSS test lead at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC). “EPAWSS has set the standard for EW within the warfighter community.”
System manufacturer BAE Systems says EPAWSS is noticeably smaller and lighter than the F-15’s previous EW system thanks to its fully digital technology. EPAWSS also has wide instantaneous bandwidth and high-speed scanning capabilities to detect all RF threat classes, including modern agile threats with a low probability of intercept, it said.
“EPAWSS is designed for upgradability and rapid feature insertion,” added Amy Nesbitt, EPAWSS program manager at BAE Systems. “We are enabling our customers to defeat future electromagnetic threats by providing iterative upgrades to field EW systems through agile software development.”
Systems in U.S. service are not currently integrated with the AN/AAR-57A(V) Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), which is designed to detect infrared threats, even though the F-15EX is equipped with the same mounting points used for these sensors on the F-15QA and F-15SA. However, systems such as CMWS could be integrated later, as BAE officials said in 2021, “EPAWSS can be integrated with multiple sensor sources to provide warfighters with improved survivability through fully integrated counter response.”
Additionally, EPAWSS can increase the F-15’s chaff and flare capacity by 50 percent. Four dispensers (two for each fairing) can be added to the EPAWSS fairings behind the tail fin, for a total of 12 dispensers to accommodate 360 cartridges. These improvements are important because in modern scenarios, chaff and flares are often released preemptively to counter Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). This means Eagle can now use more countermeasures for better protection.
EPAWSS integrates cognitive electronic warfare to better identify signals received by the system. This capability was demonstrated at the Northern Edge 2023 large-scale force exercise test event, which tested EPAWSS’s ability to quickly respond to never-before-faced electromagnetic threats. The tests challenged the system’s ability to process in-mission sensor data, generate sophisticated techniques, and optimize waveforms in real time.
“Our close collaboration with the U.S. Air Force has enabled us to mature the EPAWSS cognitive processing capabilities,” said Chip Mosle, program director at BAE Systems. “Progressively testing and deploying cognitive EW solutions on proven systems like EPAWSS enables tactical spectrum overmatch against advanced threats that are unpredictable, evolving, and adaptable.”
The Operational Test and Evaluation Director’s report notes that EPAWSS replaces functionally obsolete F-15 legacy tactical electronic warfare system components: the AN/ALR-56C radar warning receiver, the AN/ALQ-135 internal countermeasures set, and the AN/ALE-45 countermeasures dispenser set. The system also integrates with the F-15 AN/APG-82(V)1 radar and Advanced Display Core Processor II mission computer.
