McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle NASA

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) to gain and maintain air supremacy in aerial combat. 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. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills scored by the Israel 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 all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed and entered service in 1989. The F-15 Eagle is expected to be in service with the U.S. Air Force past 2025. Newer models are still being produced for foreign users. The F-15 production line is set to end in 2019, 47 years after the type's first flight.

Role: Air superiority fighter
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas, Boeing Defense, Space & Security
First flight: 27 July 1972
Introduction: 9 January 1976
Status: In service
Primary users: United States Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, Israeli Air Force
Produced: 1972–present
Number built: F-15A/B/C/D/J/DJ: 1,198 
Unit cost: F-15A/B: US$27.9 million (1998), F-15C/D: US$29.9 million (1998)
Variants: McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD, Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle, Mitsubishi F-15J

General characteristics

• Crew: 1: pilot
• 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-PW-100 or −220 afterburning turbofans
  • Dry thrust: 14,590 lbf (64.9 kN) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 23,770 lbf for −220 (105.7 kN for −220) each
• Fuel capacity: 13,455 lb (6,100 kg) internal

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  
  • High altitude: Mach 2.5+ (1,650+ mph, 2,665+ 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: 1.07 (−220)
  
• Maximum design g-load: 9 g

Armament

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 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 Fuel And Sensor Tactical (FAST) pack for use on the C model) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Missiles:
    
    • 4× AIM-7 Sparrow
    • 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder
    • 8× AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • Bombs:
    
    • Mark 82
    • Mark 84
    • GBU-10
    • GBU-31
  • 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

• 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^[129]
• Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures System (ICS) – part of TEWS
• Marconi AN/ALE-45 Chaff/Flares dispenser system – part of TEWS

Other Images of this aircraft:

      

Documentary on this aircraft:
 Great Planes McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle

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