F-15 Eagle
The F-15 Eagle is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft which was developed by the McDonnell Douglas for the US Air Force. The F-15 was designed during the Cold War to counteract the new soviet threat of the time; the MiG 25. Conceived as an air superiority aircraft, the prototype of the Eagle flew for the first time on July 27, 1972, and entered service with the United States Air Force on January 9, 1976, as the F-106A. This fighter is also used by the air forces of Israel, Japan, and, unfortunately, Saudi Arabia. McDonnel Douglas and Boeing have built 1,198 units in different versions: F-15A, F-15B, F-15C, F-15D, F-15J, F-15DJ (two-seat training version), and F-15E Strike Eagle.
The F-15 is fitted with a spine-mounted air brake and retractable tricycle landing gear. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100 axial-flow turbofan engines with afterburners mounted side-by-side in the fuselage. The cockpit is mounted high in the forward fuselage with a one-piece windscreen and large canopy to increase visibility. The Eagle is made with an all-metal semi-monocoque fuselage with a large cantilever shoulder-mounted wing. The tail section of the aircraft is metal and composite construction, with twin aluminum/composite honeycomb fins with boron-composite skins, resulting in an exceptionally thin tailplane and rudders with all-moving composite horizontal tail surfaces outboard of the fins.
Combat history of the F-15
In 1979–81, during Israeli raids against Palestinian factions based in Lebanon, F-15As downed 13 Syrian MiG-21 Fishbeds and two Syrian MiG-25 Foxbats, the latter being the aircraft the F-15 was designed to kill. Israeli F-15As and Bs participated as escorts in Operation Opera and served during the 1982 Lebanon War.
In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, the US Air Force deployed F-15C, D and E models to the Persian Gulf where they accounted for 36 of the 39 Air Force air-to-air victories. F-15Es were operated mainly at night, hunting modified SCUD missile launchers and artillery sites using the LANTIRN system. According to the USAF, its F-15Cs had 34 confirmed kills of Iraqi aircraft during the 1991 Gulf War, mostly by missile fire. The single-seat F-15C was used for air superiority, and the F-15E was heavily used in air-to-ground attacks. The F-15 also took part in Operation Iraki Freedom.
Specifications for the F-15 Eagle
Engine: two Pratt & Whitney F100-100 afterburning turbofans
Maximum speed: Mach 2.5+ (1,650+ mph, or 2,660+ km/h)
Combat radius: 1,222 miles (1,967 km) for interdiction mission
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m)
Crew: one
Avionics: one Raytheon AN/APG-63 or AN/APG-70 radar
Weapons: one 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 gatling machine gun; 6 AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles, or 6 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range air-to-air missiles; 7,300 kg (15,000 lb) of bombs
F-15 Eagle in flight
