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Strike Eagle training center opens in N.C.

A new F-15E mission training center opened Dec. 21 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., a Boeing spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The facility, which Boeing built and will operate for the Air Force, provides aircrews with high-fidelity training without the costs of using operational aircraft for training, according to the release.

Air Force officials have said they are cutting the number of training hours pilots can fly by 7.5 percent this year and will rely more heavily on simulators for training.

The new Seymour Johnson facility includes two high-fidelity, dual-cockpit, 360-degree F-15E simulators, according to a Boeing press release dated Tuesday.

The new F-15E simulators — equipped with a head-tracked, area-of-interest display visual system — can be operated individually or linked to provide two- or four-ship training scenarios, according to the press release.

A Boeing spokeswoman declined to release the cost of the center.

Boeing will open another F-15E mission training center in the near future at RAF Lakenheath in Britain, according to the release, and Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Seymour Johnson each will receive a second center this year.