The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's design in 1969 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force.

The Eagle has been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. The F-15 was originally envisioned as a pure air-superiority aircraft. Its design included a secondary ground-attack capability that was largely unused. The aircraft design proved flexible enough that an improved all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed, entered service in 1989 and has been exported to several nations. Several F-15 variants have been produced.

The F-15 can trace its origins to the early Vietnam War, when the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy fought each other over future tactical aircraft. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was pressing for both services to use as many common aircraft as possible, even if performance compromises were involved. As part of this policy, the USAF and Navy had embarked on the TFX (F-111) program, aiming to deliver a medium-range interdiction aircraft for the Air Force that would also serve as a long-range interceptor aircraft for the Navy.

In January 1965, Secretary McNamara asked the Air Force to consider a new low-cost tactical fighter design for short-range roles and close air support to replace several types like the F-100 Super Sabre and various light bombers then in service. Several existing designs could fill this role; the Navy favored the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and LTV A-7 Corsair II, which were pure attack aircraft, while the Air Force was more interested in the Northrop F-5 fighter with a secondary attack capability. The A-4 and A-7 were more capable in the attack role, while the F-5 less so, but could defend itself. If the Air Force chose a pure attack design, maintaining air superiority would be a priority for a new airframe.
General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wing area: 608 sq ft (56.5 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 64A006.6; tip: NACA 64A203
Empty weight: 28,000 lb (12,701 kg)
Gross weight: 44,500 lb (20,185 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 68,000 lb (30,844 kg)
Fuel capacity: 13,455 lb (6,103 kg) internal
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 afterburning turbofans, 14,590 lbf (64.9 kN) thrust each dry, 23,770 lbf (105.7 kN) with afterburner
Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 2.5 (1,650 mph, 2,655 km/h) at high altitude
Mach 1.2, 800 kn (921 mph; 1,482 km/h) at sea level
Combat range: 1,061 nmi (1,221 mi, 1,965 km) for interdiction mission
Ferry range: 3,000 nmi (3,500 mi, 5,600 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
g limits: +9
Rate of climb: 67,050 ft/min (340.6 m/s) (with 3 pylons)
Wing loading: 73.1 lb/sq ft (357 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 1.07 (1.26 with loaded weight and 50% internal fuel)
Armament
Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon, 940 rounds
Hardpoints: Total 9: two under-wing (each with additional two missile launch rails), four under-fuselage (for semi-recessed carriage of AIM-7 Sparrows) and a single centerline pylon station, optional fuselage pylons (which may include conformal fuel tanks) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Missiles: *** 4× AIM-7 Sparrow
4× AIM-9 Sidewinder
8× AIM-120 AMRAAM
Other: *** up to 3 × 600 US gallons (2,300 L) external drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time.#f15eagle
MXU-648 Cargo/Travel Pod – to carry personal belongings, and small pieces of maintenance equipment.
Avionics
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System
Radar:
Raytheon AN/APG-63 or AN/APG-70 or
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)1 or
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)2 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) or
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
Countermeasures:
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod
Hazeltine AN/APX-76 or Raytheon AN/APX-119 Identify Friend/Foe (IFF) interrogator
Magnavox AN/ALQ-128 Electronic Warfare Warning Set (EWWS) – part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
Loral AN/ALR-56 Radar warning receivers (RWR) – part of TEWS
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures System (ICS) – part of TEWS
Marconi AN/ALE-45 Chaff/Flares dispenser system – part of TEWS

#f15eagle #F15 #fighteraircraft

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