Military News Today

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas’s design in 1967 to meet the service’s need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. This was due to the F-4 Phantoms poor performance during the Vietnam War against the Mig-25’s where US Navy & Air Force pilots went from a 13 to 1 kill ratio in the Korean War to a 1.5 to 1 kill ratio during the Vietnam War.

The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 104 air to air kills and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force.

The F-15 was so powerful, it became the first fighter to break the speed of sound barrier in vertical flight. Even today a modernised F-15 is more than capable up against more modern fighters of today and considered a formidable opponent.

The McDonnell Douglas F-15A (later C) Eagle is a large single seat twin-engine air superiority fighter was also developed into a potent multi-role strike aircraft for the USAF known as the F-15E Strike Eagle. This version has since formed the basis of a number of bespoke export models for a number of nations. Boeing have recently developed the F-15EX Eagle II which has been acquired by the USAF to replace many of it’s ageing F-15C Eagles and to supplement the F-22 and F-35 fleets.

The Royal Saudi Air Force currently operates a mixed fleet of F-15C/D air superiority fighters and F-15S/SA Eagles which is an advanced variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle. The RSAF received its final delivery of its order for 84 F-15SA Eagles from Boeing during 2020. Compared to the Strike Eagle, among other things these aircraft carry a more advanced radar, advanced cockpit, more powerful engines plus an Infrared Search and Track System (IRST). In total, the F-15SA can carry up to 24 air to ground weapons or 12 air to air missiles.

The Royal International Air Tattoo are very pleased to announce that the RSAF will be sending an F-15SA Eagle to this year’s Air Tattoo for static display, this is a UK airshow debut for this variant of the F-15.