The F15EX fighter can not only fight planes but also satellites, it has not been shot down in air combat, and has an air combat record of 104:0.
There is such a fighter in history, for a long Time is considered the world’s best air superiority fighter, the actual battle has never been shot down by the enemy, but also set a record of 104:0 air combat, not only can hit the aircraft can also hit the satellite, it can be said that the war is invincible, invincible, it is the United States of America’s heavy fighter F-15.
F-15 Eagle fighter, developed by the United States during the Cold War, all-weather, highly maneuverable heavy fighter, at the beginning was used against the Soviet Union’s MiG 25, when the MiG 25 could reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.2, so the F15 was originally designed to be an air superiority aircraft. The Office of Special Projects even declared to the higher-ups that the F15 was designed “without a pound for ground attack”. Of course, the F15E Strike Eagle, an improved version of the F15, was designed for ground attack, but that was an afterthought.
The F-15 was 19.44 meters long, with a wingspan of 13.03 meters, a height of 5.68 meters, a maximum speed of Mach 2.5, a cruise speed of Mach 0.95, a maximum lift of 20,000 meters, and a maximum range of 5,700 kilometers. After several upgrades and improvements, the U.S. has about 700 F-15s of various types.
Why the F15 is excellent in air combat
There are several reasons why the F-15 performed well in air combat, including the most advanced avionics and radar at the time; excellent air-to-air missiles; and excellent aerodynamic layout and engines.
The F-15s were equipped with a multifunctional avionics system containing a heads-up display (HUD), advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, UHF communications, as well as enemy identifiers and electronic countermeasures. These automated devices can help pilots to obtain battlefield information in a timely and convenient manner, track and hunt enemy aircraft. You look at the avionics inside the cockpit of the Soviet Su-27, and then look at the F15, you feel that the Soviets are too shabby, it’s like you drive a Toyota and then switch to do a BMW feeling.
In addition, the F-15s are equipped with Vulcan-style 20mm guns and can carry four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, or four AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, four AIM-9 Rattlesnake missiles, and can also mount a variety of bombs, even including nuclear bombs. The latest F15EX can have up to 12 air-to-air missile mounts under the fuselage, and up to 15 mount points in ground attack mode. The F15EX can mount up to 20 AIM-120 air-to-air missiles when using composite mounts, making it an aerial arsenal!
Although the F-15 was developed early, the superior aerodynamic layout with powerful thrust engines contributed to the F-15’s outstanding flight performance. In my words, the F15 is a big horse-drawn car. one of the characteristics of the F15 is light, although called heavy fighters, but empty weight of only 13 tons, Russia’s Su-35 empty weight of 17 tons, the United States is now the F35C to 15 tons, F35 but single-engine, an engine. the F15 but dual-engine, two engines, Pratt & Whitney F100.
The effect of the small human horsepower is to bring full power, how to fly how to fly. It is interesting to note that the F15 can be said to be one of the fastest developing warplanes, from the project to the first aircraft test flight, only three years of time. f15 good quality to what extent? Even if half of its wings were lost, it was still able to return safely to flight.
In 1983, in the Negev desert in southern Israel, an F-15D and an A-4 collided in the air during training, and the pilot immediately felt the fuselage shake strongly and saw a fireball.
At that time, the right wing of the F-15D was leaking a lot of oil, and the fuselage was spiraling down. The pilot knew that the aircraft was severely damaged, but did not know that the right wing was missing. The pilot was immediately instructed to abandon the aircraft and jump out, but he stated, no problem, I can still fly. He then literally landed the plane at an airport 10 miles away. When he reached the ground and turned around to shake hands with his instructor, he realized the plane had lost a piece of its wing.
What about the drawbacks of the F15?
So does the F15 have any flaws? When the F15 was first introduced, an aircraft was $30 million, while the F16 of the same period only needed $15 million, an F15 topped two F16s, and maintenance was also expensive, although the United States has money, it can not be so burned ah, so the U.S. Air Force formed the F15 with F16 The F15 has a high and low end with the F16, a heavy air superiority fighter F15 with cheap and practical F16.
F15 war record 104:0 achieved by the main Israeli Air Force
In the 1982 Bekaa Valley Air War, the F15 and F16 teamed up to shoot down 82 Syrian warplanes. In the 1999 Kosovo War, USAF F-15Cs used AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles to shoot down more than four Yugoslav MiG-29s, and in 2001, two Israeli Air Force F-15Cs shot down two Syrian Air Force MiG-29s.
The F15 can not only fight aircraft, but also satellites. 1984 to 1986, some F-15A models were modified to use ASM-135 anti-satellite missiles, using the F-15’s launch control radar for posture control and missile launch. On the third test launch, the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 11,600 meters with a speed of sound of Mach 1.22 and fired the missile at an elevation angle of 65 degrees, targeting an abandoned satellite that was still orbiting the earth at an altitude of 555 kilometers at a speed of 28,164 kilometers per hour. This satellite was really shot down by the F15.
The F15 can hit planes and satellites, but it can also hit tanks. During the Gulf War, the F-15E Strike Eagles were equipped with the “Blue Shield” pods, and they made a big difference. At the time, Iraq hid a large number of tanks in sand dune bunkers, but because the sand cools faster than metal armor at night, F-15Es equipped with Blue Shield pods could easily spot these tanks and destroy them with GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. According to post-war statistics, the hit rate was over 80 percent. A twin F-15E formation had set a record of dropping 16 GBU-12 bombs and destroying 16 Iraqi tanks in 30 minutes.
F15s have been shot down by anti-aircraft missiles
F15s have not been shot down in air combat, but they have been shot down by anti-aircraft missiles, when a Saudi F15 was shot down by Houthis in Yemen in 2017.
The F15 is, after all, an aircraft designed in the 1970s, is it unsuitable for the modern battlefield? The U.S. Air Force has been continuously improving the F15, the most famous improvements are the F15E Strike Eagle and the F15EX. 2 February 2021, the U.S. Air Force’s first F-15EX successfully made its maiden flight.
The F-15EX is the newest version of the F-15 Eagle with an increased carryable weapons load, telemetry controls, a digital cockpit, modern sensors, advanced radar, and electronic warfare capabilities.
The F-15EX airframe has a service Life of 20,000 flight hours, approximately twice the service life of the F-15C. Based on an average of three hours of flight per day, the F-15EX would have 20 years of service, even with 21 hours of combat readiness seven days a week and about 1,000 hours per year.
In July 2020, the U.S. Air Force ordered eight F-15EXs at a total cost of $1.2 billion. Two F-15EX fighters are expected to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force in late March 2021. The U.S. Air Force also plans to purchase at least 144 F-15EX fighters.
And it wasn’t the U.S. Air Force that got the F15EX first, but the National Guard! The Oregon National Guard Air Force will be equipped with the latest F-15EX fighters, and the 173rd Fighter Wing is scheduled to become an F-15EX fighter wing in 2024. This wing has operated the F-4, F-16 and F-15C fighters. the F-15EX procurement will gradually replace the current F-15C/D fighters. The U.S. military currently has at least 249 F-15C/D air superiority fighters in service, as well as 219 F-15E multi-role fighters.
Why also buy four generations of aircraft F15
So there is a problem, the United States is currently equipped with the fifth generation of stealth fighters F22 and F35, why do you want to buy four-generation aircraft F15?
I personally believe that there are several reasons for it.
One is the number. The U.S. Air Force’s most advanced F-22 stealth fighter has 183, but production has been discontinued due to cost issues. f-35 fighters, although ramping up production, but demand exceeds supply, the number is still difficult to meet the needs of the U.S. Air Force. The current annual production of F35 is 200, the United States still have a large number of F16, F15 need to change, so this time to develop F15EX can upgrade the existing F15, as a complete change to the fifth generation of aircraft a transition program.
The F-35 will continue to be equipped as a fifth-generation medium-sized fighter, but in order to ensure the stealth function, the missiles are hung in the internal bomb bay, which can only accommodate four AIM120, limited ammunition, ground strike capability is insufficient. f-15EX heavy fighter can not only carry a large number of weapons, but also has more space to equip all kinds of advanced avionics equipment, including electric warfare Equipment, undoubtedly highlights the value of multi-purpose, with the F-35 with the use of each other can complement each other.
The third reason is to give Boeing certain orders. We know that the U.S. Air Force currently uses several types of aircraft, F22, F35, and even F16 are Lockheed Martin, and Boeing only has one aircraft, the F15. So at this point in time, it would be good for the future to give Boeing a little order to continue the development of advanced aircraft. These are the three reasons why I think the U.S. should continue to give orders for the F15 on top of having a 5th generation aircraft.
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