Mc Douglas Donnell F-15 Eagle

F-15 Eagle is a Fighter plan any time known as of “air superiority”, conceived by the the United States in the asses 1970. Produced with more than thousand specimens, it is used mainly by USAF but was also exported towards some friendly countries, of which Israel and the Japan which built it under license. A specialized version of attacks on the ground was also developed (F-15E).

Design

F-15A and B Eagle

Starting from the medium of the the Sixties, the US Air Force undertook a series of studies for development of a new fighter, under designation F-X. Whereas the engagement of the the United States in the Guerre of Vietnam was growing, the limits of the planes in service, and in particular the little of aptitude for the close combat to the F-4 '' Phantom '' vis-a-vis nimble the Mig North-Vietnamese, became increasingly obvious. The development of a new generation of Soviet hunters did nothing but exacerbate the need for USAF for having a new apparatus.

In February 1968, the US Air Force limited officially program F-X to the development of a plane of air superiority (in opposition to an apparatus multi-role), henceforth indicated F-15. This last was to be able to engage and destroy not only adversaries evolving/moving beyond the visual range, but also fights some whirling. The official invitation to tender appeared the September 30th 1968, stipulating, amongst other things, a weak wing load, a high weight-thorough ratio, a radar able to follow targets evolving/moving low than the apparatus, a sufficient operating range to be able to reach the Europe since the the United States, a maximum speed of Mach 2,5, etc Three manufacturers answered this program: Fairchild, North American and McDonnell Douglas (today Boeing). It is the latter which was retained the December 23rd 1969 to develop the new plane.

The initial contract covered 20 planes of development, divided into 18 single-seaters (designation F-15A) and two two-seaters (TF-15A then F-15B). The first single-seat prototype (71-0280) left factory the June 26th 1972 and made its first flight the July 27th 1972, the first flight of a F-15B taking place the July 7th 1973.

The F-15 has a semi-monocoque metal fuselage. The wings, assembled in high position on the fuselage, have an entire surface of 56,51 m ² which confers on the F-15 a weak wing load and thus takes part in the agility of the plane. The pilot, sitted on an ejector seat McDonnell Douglas ACES II, enjoys an exceptional visibility. The propulsion of the first versions was ensured by two dual flow jet engines Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 of 111,2kN of pushed with Postcombustion, supplied with two air intake with variable geometry. The plane is equipped with a multimode radar Doppler with impulse Hughes APG-63, is developed specifically and optimized for the air-to-air combat, as well as system of electronic countermeasures Northrop ALQ-135 and of a detector of alarm radar ALR-56.

The first F-15 delivered to an operational unit was the F-15B (71-0108) that President Gerald Ford accepted in the name of the 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron during a ceremony the November 4th 1974. The training of started then. The first F-15 intended for the units of combat were delivered to the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing to Langley Air Force Bases, which began its conversion in January 1976.

F-15C and D Eagle

Version F-15C is the first version of the F-15 able to carry tanks FAST plated along the fuselage. Contrary to the traditional tanks carried under the wings, these tanks increase autonomy without decreasing the performances significantly. They can also contain additional electronics components in the place of part of the fuel. Moreover, other fuel tanks were added in the wings and the fuselage. The increase in the weight of the plane involved a reinforcement of the landing gear and brakes. Lastly, the performances of radar AN/APG-63 were improved.

The corresponding two-seater version is the F-15D. First F - 15 C.A. makes its inaugural flight in February 1979 and the deliveries started with the beginning of the year 1980. Some time later, the engine Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 was replaced by a F100-PW-220 slightly less less powerful but more reliable.

F-15E Strike Eagle

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a modified F-15D, created in 1986 to give to the apparatus a capacity multirôle, and of attack any time. This version takes again 60% of the cell of the F-15D, and also carries tanks FAST. Its avionics was completely modified: radar AN/APG-70 with air-to-ground modes (mode with opening of synthesis or SAR allowing to generate very detailed charts), nacelles infra-red Martin Marietta LANTIRN (nacelle of navigation AN/AAQ-13 and nacelle of targeting AN/AAQ-14), cockpits equipped with multifunction screens.

It is also equipped with a new motorization: two General Electric F110-GE-129 or two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 of a push from twice 13.154 Kgp with PC. Its empty weight passed to 14.379 kg, the maximum mass with 36.741 kg and its warhead to 11.113 kg. Its operating range passes to 4.445 km in convoying and 1.270 km in combat. Lastly, the F-15E is able to carry two nuclear bombs Mk.51 or B-61.

F-15 Streak Eagle

The Streak Eagle (not to be confused with Strike Eagle , nickname of the F-15E) is a F-15A modified in 1974 - 1975 to beat speed records upward, primarily held by the F-4 Phantom II and Mig-25. The air-brake, the shutters, the radar, the electronic systems and the armament were removed to reduce it (total profit of a ton), and the plane was sandpapered to improve aérodynamisme. The flights were carried out starting from a base of the North Dakota, by carrying only one minimum of fuel. The Streak Eagle beat eight records, the majority of them were then improved between 1986 and 1988 by Sukhoï P-42, version of record of the Known-27.

Assembled to 3.000 meters in 27 seconds;
Assembled to 6.000 m in 39 seconds;
Assembled to 9.000 m in 48 seconds;
Assembled to 12.000 m in 59 seconds;
Assembled to 15.000 m in 77 seconds;
Assembled to 20.000 m in 123 seconds;
Assembled to 25.000 m in 161 seconds;
Assembled to 30.000 m in 208 seconds.

Engagements

The F-15 was engaged by the the United States at the time of the operation Tempête of the desert against the Iraq, then to make respect the air prohibition imposed after this war. The American F-15C are credited with 36 victories without any loss during the operation Tempête of the desert. Their sides, the F-15E carried out missions of attack, although the integration of the laser nacelle of designation is not yet completely effective at that time. The American F-15 also took part in the Guerre of Kosovo. The F-15E currently take part in the operations of the war of Afghanistan since the end of 2001 and of the Guerre of Iraq since 2003.

June 5th, 1984, of the Saoudi F-15C cut down two of the F-4 Phantom II Iran iens. During the operation Storm of the desert, the Saoudi Eagle also obtained some victories against Iraqi planes.

The Israeli F-15 took part in many operations on the Lebanon (in 1979 and 1982 in particular). The Israeli air force affirms to have gained more than 56 air victories against planes Syria NS with the Eagle , of which several Mig-25 Foxbat. The Israeli F-15 also took part in the Opération Operated against the power station of Osirak on the Iraqi territory.

Another engagement was not warlike but psychological, because the F-15 was used to beat various world records at the time of the Cold war (see above).

Alternatives

These two versions were the first of series F-15 and are equipped with a radar APG-63:

F-15A - single-seat Version (384 specimens)
F-15B - two-seater Version (58 specimens)

The two following versions have an increased fuel capacity and an improved electronics. They were remotorisées thereafter with Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 slightly less less powerful but more reliable than the F100-PW-100.

F-15C - single-seat Version (408 specimens)
F-15D - two-seater Version (97 specimens)

The following version has capacities of attack any time:

F-15E - Version two-seater (200 specimens)

The following versions are versions of export:

F-15I - Version of the F-15E intended for Israel
F-15J/DJ - Versions of the F-15C/F-15D intended for the Japan and built under license by Mitsubishi
F-15K - Version of the F-15E intended for the South Korea
F-15S - Version of the F-15E intended for the Saudi Arabia
F-15T - Version of the F-15E intended for Singapore

Experimental alternatives

The following alternatives were created at experimental ends:

F-15S/MTD - Version on short takeoff and atterissage of the F-15 with engines with two-dimensional vectorial push and duck wings (elevators of F-18).
F-15 ACTIVATES - Version of the F-15S/MTD whose engines are equipped with three-dimensional vectorial push instead of two-dimensional.
F-15 IFCS - Version of the F-15 ACTIVATES of which the avionics was improved.

Country purchasers

Saudi Arabia (F-15C, F-15D, F-15S)
South Korea (F-15K)
the United States (F-15A with F-15E)
Israel (F-15A, F-15B, F-15C, F-15E, F-15I)
Japan (F-15J/DJ)
Singapore (F-15T)

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