UPI.com reports that the first new Boeing F-15SA completed a successful test flight last month in the United States.
The report quotes Lt. Gen. C. D. Moore II, the commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, who said, “The successful first flight of the F-15SA is a tremendous milestone for the program and a testament to the relationship between the (U.S. Air Force), Boeing, and our (Saudi air force) partners.”
A Boeing F-15 plane similar to 84 recently ordered by Saudi Arabia.
Those planes are set for delivery in 2015. Congress approved in 2010 an agreement to sell 84 Boeing Co. F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia for $29.4 billion, and the Obama Administration signed that agreement into law on Christmas Day, 2011.
The deal will support 50,000 U.S. jobs for at least a decade and aid 600 suppliers in 44 states, according to this report in Bloomberg, which cited Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. It was, of course, a boon to U.S.-based Boeing as well.
Meanwhile, Foreign Policy’s Killer Apps Blog notes that Saudi Arabia is seeking to keep these F-15SA planes safe from a potential cyber attack.
U.S. President Barack Obama and HRH Saudi King Abdullah.
“Deliveries of the new jets are slated to start in 2015. Like other 21st century fighter jets, the newest Strike Eagles are tied to computer networks that could be vulnerable to hacking… To protect against this, the U.S. Air Force wants to hire someone to give the Saudis “initial Computer Network Defense (CND) capabilities, facilities, and manpower necessary to protect sensitive networks, systems, and data generated and utilized in support of F-15 flight, maintenance, supply, and operations activities,” FP’s John Reed writes, citing the U.S. Federal Business Opportunities website.
U.S. officials recently announced that cyber attacks were now the nation’s top security threat. According to The Hill, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers that terrorist groups “are increasingly pursuing the ability to wage cyber attacks, which, if successful, could bring businesses and the government to a collapsing halt.”
Saudi Arabian military leaders apparently share that concern.
The deal signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia for a total of $60 billion in 2010 was the largest in U.S. history. It includes 84 new F-15 fighters, upgrades to 70 more, and purchases of three different types of helicopters – 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds.
Image via http://ow.ly/jbP7b
