War Thunder Reveals F-15EX and F-15IA Ra’am for Rank IX
Gaijin put out a devblog on 6 November 2026 showing off the next top-tier jets heading to War Thunder: the F-15EX for the USA and the F-15IA Ra’am for Israel. Both land at Rank IX and both are built to carry more weapons than anything else currently flying in the game.
These are the newest members of the Eagle family, and according to the developer they combine the best parts of earlier F-15 variants with some genuinely new hardware. If you’ve flown the F-15E line, the general shape of these aircraft will feel familiar, but the loadouts and avionics are a clear step up.
What the F-15EX Brings to the Fight
The F-15EX can carry up to 12 active radar-homing missiles in a single sortie, including the AIM-120D, which uses satellite-assisted guidance. On the ground-attack side, it can haul up to 22 precision-guided bombs, plus SLAM-ER missiles that use television-command guidance, along with anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles.
New engines are supposed to give it strong speed and handling even when it’s loaded down with that much ordnance. The jet also gets a bigger supply of countermeasures than previous Eagles, which matters when you’re flying with a heavy payload and less room to maneuver away from threats.
Avionics and the Israeli Variant
Both jets come packed with some of the more advanced electronics in War Thunder right now: an AESA radar, a helmet-mounted display for targeting, a radar warning receiver, and a voice warning system. The developer says this puts the F-15EX among the strongest fourth-generation fighters in the game once it arrives.
The F-15IA Ra’am shares the same air-to-air capability as the F-15EX, but its air-to-ground options differ slightly. Israel’s version adds SPICE precision-guided munitions to its arsenal, giving it its own flavor on strike missions even though dogfighting performance between the two is identical, according to the developer.
Background on the Real Aircraft
The F-15EX traces back to Boeing’s export-focused “F-15 Advanced Eagle” program, which was later adapted for the U.S. Air Force after talks began in 2018 to replace aging F-15C/D airframes. It borrows heavily from the F-15QA built for Qatar. The real jet first flew on 2 February 2021, and the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing received its first unit in June 2024. It’s currently in U.S. Air Force service and is meant to fully replace the older F-15C/D fleet.
What This Means If You Use Mods
War Thunder has an active mod and skin community, and new aircraft like this usually mean a wait before custom liveries, sound packs, or other community content catches up. If you run visual or audio mods, don’t expect compatibility with the F-15EX or F-15IA Ra’am right away once they land in the game.
It’s also worth backing up any mod folders or config files you’ve got set up before a major content update like this drops, since new vehicles often come bundled with broader client changes. The developer has not given a release date yet and notes that the specs shown could still change before the jets actually go live, so treat everything here as subject to revision.
Based on the developer's announcement on Steam, 6 November 2026.
