McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle-Duxford Oct 2010
Image by Feggy Art
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfight. Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas’ design in 1967 to meet the service’s need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. The F-15 is expected to be in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025.
Since the 1970s, the Eagle has also been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Despite originally being envisaged as a pure air superiority aircraft, the design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed, and entered service in 1989.
Registration:
•Eagle 1: LN160
•Eagle 2: LN164
General characteristics
•Crew: 1
•Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
•Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m)
•Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.63 m)
•Wing area: 608 ft² (56.5 m²)
•Airfoil: NACA 64A006.6 root, NACA 64A203 tip
•Empty weight: 28,000 lb (12,700 kg)
•Loaded weight: 44,500 lb (20,200 kg)
•Max takeoff weight: 68,000 lb (30,845 kg)
•Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney F100-100 or -220 afterburning turbofans
•Dry thrust: 17,450 lbf (77.62 kN) each
•Thrust with afterburner: 25,000 lbf for -220 (111.2 kN for -220) each
Performance
•Maximum speed:
•High altitude: Mach 2.5+ (1,650+ mph, 2,660+ km/h)
•Low altitude: Mach 1.2 (900 mph, 1,450 km/h)
•Combat radius: 1,061 nmi (1,222 mi, 1,967 km) for interdiction mission
•Ferry range: 3,450 mi (3,000 nmi, 5,550 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
•Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
•Rate of climb: >50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
•Wing loading: 73.1 lb/ft² (358 kg/m²)
•Thrust/weight: 1.12 (-220)
Armament
•Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan 6-barreled gatling cannon, 940 rounds
•Hardpoints: Total 11 (not including CFTs): 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, known initially as FAST packs (Fuel And Sensor Tactical) for use on the C model) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
•Missiles: AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinders
•Other: Up to 3× 600 US gallons (2,300 L) external drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time. MXU-648 Cargo/Travel Pod – to carry personal belongings, and small pieces of maintenance equipment.
Avionics
•Radar: Raytheon AN/APG-63 or AN/APG-70 (Note: Although several F-15C aircraft were produced with APG-70 radar, all have been retrofitted to the AN/APG-63(V)1 configuration.) 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) (Note: Both active AF and ANG F-15Cs will receive another (up to) 48 V3 units between 2009-2015, over the existing 19 aircraft.)
•Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System
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
Text and specifications based on Wikipedia article under the Creative Commons License for non-profit use.
