Battle Stations III
F-15
Eagle
Wingspan 13m
(42.8ft)
Engine 2 x Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100, 220 or
229 turbofans with afterburners
Armament Internally mounted M-61A1 20mm six-barrel
cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition, 4 x AIM-9LM Sidewinder and
4 x AIM-7F/M Sparrow air-to-air missiles, or 8 x AIM-120 AMRAAMS,
carried externally
Maximum speed 1,650mph clean over 13,715m/45,000ft
Combat ceiling 19,200m (63,000ft)
Range More than 3,450 miles
Considered by many to be the best fighter in the world, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle made its first flight on 27 July 1972. The first F-15B, delivered in November 1974, was followed in January 1976 by the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron.
Manoeuvrability and acceleration
The F-15's outstanding qualities of manoeuvrability and acceleration rest in large part on a huge fixed-geometry wing, F100 engine and Hughes APG-63 pulse-Doppler radar. These factors also mean that the F-15 is a large aircraft, costly to buy and to operate.
Manoeuvrability and acceleration were achieved through high engine thrust-to-weight ratio and low wing loading (the ratio of aircraft weight to its wing area). Combined with the thrust-to-weight ratio, this enables the F-15 to make tight turns with no loss of airspeed.
Avionics system
The F-15 is also distinguished by its multi-mission avionics system, including head-up display (HUD), advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, ultra-high-frequency communications and tactical navigation and instrument landing systems. It is also fitted with an internally mounted tactical electronic warfare system, an 'identification friend or foe' system, an electronic countermeasures set and a central digital computer.
The pilot's HUD projects on to the windscreen all essential flight information collected by the F-15's integrated avionics systems. The display is visible in all weather conditions and gives pilots all the information they need to track and destroy a hostile aircraft without having to look at the cockpit instruments.
The F-15's pulse-Doppler radar system can acquire both high-flying and low-flying targets, the latter without ground clutter. It can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances from beyond visual range to close range and from high altitude down to treetop level. The radar then feeds this target information into the central computer. In a dogfight, the radar 'acquires' the target and projects it on to the HUD.
Uncompromising air superiority
The F-15C and D models accommodate low-drag conformal fuel tanks fitted under each wing. These reduce the need for in-flight refuelling on global missions and increase the time in the combat area with no loss of munitions capacity. Indeed, AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles can be attached to the corners of the conformal fuel tanks.
By the early 1990s, the F-15, designed as an uncompromising air-superiority fighter, was also able to handle a tactical attack role. For low-altitude, high-speed penetration and precision attacks on tactical targets at night or in poor weather, the F-15E two-seat dual-role fighter – designed to fly all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions – carries a high-resolution APG-70 radar, plus a low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night pods.
Victories
F-15C, D and E models were deployed to the Middle East during the Gulf War of 1991. Flying in support of Operation Desert Storm, F-15C fighters notched up 34 of the 37 US Air Force air-to-air victories. F-15Es operated principally at night, hunting SCUD missile launchers and artillery sites.
Subsequently F-15s played significant roles in: Operation Southern Watch, the patrolling of the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone in southern Iraq; Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey; UN operations in Bosnia; and the war against Iraq in 2003. At present, there are some 400 F-15s on the active inventory of the US Air Force. Each one, produced at a unit cost of approximately $30 million, is an immensely valuable asset.
