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Hello, I’d like to re-introduce and suggest the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle for the US Aviation tech tree. It is a strike fighter variant derived from the air superiority fighter F-15 Eagle as a replacement for the F-111 Aardvarks.
Key Characteristics
- Strike Eagle with Darker Aircraft Camouflage and Conformal Fuel Tanks
- Tandem-seat cockpit
- AN/APG-70 (initial) and AN/APG-82 (upgraded)
- Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 (initial) and F100-PW-229 (upgraded) afterburning turbofan engines
- Access to multiple Air-to-Ground weaponry
- Expanded countermeasures to increase survivability
History
Design and DevelopmentThe F-15 Eagle was developed and introduced by McDonnell Douglas for the US Air Force to replace its fleet of F-4 Phantom IIs in the late 1970s. The F-15 was very successful as the superiority fighter but not so successful at its ground-attack role. There was a slogan for the F-15: Not a pound for air to ground. The original design team had officially opposed the idea of F-15s performing interdictions.
That had all changed as the company had anticipated a new replacement for the General Dynamics F-111 and the remaining F-4s in ground role, so it worked on conceiving a new F-15-derived interdictor fighter in secret. In 1978, the USAF called for the Tactical All-Weather Requirement Study, which considered McDonnell Douglas’s proposal and other alternatives. The study concluded and recommended the F-15E as the promising USAF’s potential strike asset in the future. McDonnell Douglas wasted no minute and began a close collaboration with Hughes on developing the F-15E’s air-to-ground capabilities.
To fortify and move the F-15E project forward, McDonnell Douglas modified the second TF-15A prototype, AF serial number 71-0291, as a demonstrator of the F-15E. It was known as the Advanced Fighter Capability Demonstrator, which flew the first flight on July 8, 1980. It was previously used to test conformal fuel tanks and subsequently fitted with Pave Tack laser designator targeting pod to lead the guided bombs. The demonstrator was displayed at the 1980 Farnborough Airshow.
In March 1981, the US Air Force publicly announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter program with the primary goal of seeking and designing an official replacement for the F-111 Aardvark. The program was later renamed the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) competition. The program emphasized that the replacement can launch deep strikes into enemy territory, capable of defending themselves without fighter escorts or jammers. Entry of the competition, General Dynamics presented its F-16XL, while McDonnell Douglas presented its F-15E. The DRF evaluation team underwent the evaluations of candidates, lasting from 1981 through April 30, 1983. During the competition, the F-15E logged more than 200 flights, demonstrating a takeoff weight of more than 75,000 pounds, and showcased 16 different weapons-carrying configurations.
Finally, on February 24, 1984, the Air Force announced its selection of the F-15E for the main reasons: cheap development costs and future growth potential. The first of three F-15Es was built in July 1985. One of the F-15Es made its first flight in 1986. The F-15Es are fitted with air-to-ground avionics via multiple screens with views of radar, electronic warfare, thermographic cameras, internal aircraft systems, weapons status, and moving maps. The F-15Es were distinguished from other F-15 Eagles by darker camouflage, conformal fuel tanks mounted along the engine intake ramps, and a two-seat cockpit.
The F-15E was fitted with Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 after burning turbofan and Raytheon AN/APG-70. Its F100-PW-220 was rated 14,590 lbs thrust each dry and 23,770 lbs thrust with afterburner. The APG-70 was a redesigned APG-63, found in all F-15A/Bs, for greater reliability and easier maintenance. This X-band and pulse-doppler radar system incorporated new modes with enhanced identical air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. The AN/APG-70 can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at 115 miles (185 kilometers) beyond visual range and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar inputs information about the target into the F-15E’s central computer and the cockpit’s head-up display. The aircrew of F-15E can freeze the air-to-ground map and switch to air-to-air mode to scan for aerial threats. The pilot was mainly responsible for detecting, targeting, and engaging the air threats, while the Weapon Systems Officer was responsible for scanning and designating ground targets.
The F-15E had an inertial navigation system that used a laser gyroscope to continuously monitor the aircraft’s position and feed information to its central computer and digital moving map in both cockpits.
The F-15E can equip the LANTIRN system, which can be mounted externally under the engine intakes. It had two pods, a navigation pod, and a targeting pod, and they were to assist the aircraft to fly at low altitudes to attack ground targets with precision-guided and unguided weapons. The AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod beneath the right engine intake consists of a terrain-following radar, which allows the pilot to fly safely at an extremely low altitude. The cues were displayed on a HUD and can be coupled to the autopilot to provide hands-off terrain-following capability. This pod had a forward-looking infrared system that projects on the HUD to assist and navigate during nighttime or severe weather. The AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod mounted beneath the left engine intake consists of a laser designator and a tracking system that marks a target for destruction at a range of 10 miles (16 kilometers). When the tracking had started, the targeting information was transmitted to infrared homing air-to-surface missiles or laser-guided bombs. This pod can be swapped by either the AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening or the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper.
The F-15E had a tactical electronic warfare system (TEWS) as its principal feature that integrated all countermeasures on the aircraft. It included radar warning receivers, radar jammers, and chaff/flare dispensers; they are all tied to the TEWS to provide encompassing defense against detection and tracking. The F-15E can externally mount an ALQ-131 ECM pod on its centerline pylon to increase its jamming capability. In an instance of this function, if the warning receiver detects a threat before the radar jammer, then the warning receiver will inform the jammer of the bandit. The jammer of the F-15E can jam radar systems operating in high frequencies, such as surface-to-air missiles, anti-air artillery, and airborne threats.
The F-15E would carry the most air-to-ground weapons as the strike aircraft in the USAF inventory. It was capable of carrying almost every type of conventional and nuclear munition. It also retained the air-to-air weapons of F-15A/C Eagle, such as AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs for counter-air capabilities.
USAF ServiceThe US Air Force placed an order for 236 F-15E Strike Eagles, and the production began in 1988 through 2001. The first F-15E was delivered to the 405th Tactical Training Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, in April 1988. By September 30, 1989, the F-15Es of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron, had reached their initial operational capability at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.
The F-15Es saw their first action in the first Gulf War during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. These F-15Es performed search-and-destroy strikes against targets such as SAM sites, petrol oil facilities, and armored vehicles in Iraq. Two F-15Es were lost to enemy anti-air weapons, the only losses in the combat to this date. The F-15Es would see other actions in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Libya, and the Middle East almost exclusively used for close air support roles.
In 2003, the F-15Es in the service were receiving upgrades by Boeing through the contracts for USAF and international customers. The F-15E had major modernization programs, with the radar upgraded under the Radar Modernization Program. Starting in 2007 and afterward, the F-15Es were fitted with the newer Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array X-band pulsed-Doppler radar. In short, it combines the processor of the AN/APG-79 from the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the antenna of the APG-63(V)3 AESA from the F-15C as the new radar for the F-15E. The radar featured a new cooling system and Radio Frequency Tunable Filters. It was designed to enable radar and the jammer to operate simultaneously without degrading each other. It can simultaneously detect, identify, and track multiple air and surface targets at much longer ranges, increasing effectiveness and survivability.
In 2015, Boeing and BAE Systems upgraded the electronic warfare system of F-15Es with a new AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System installed. It provided the F-15E with fully integrated radar warning, geolocation, and situational awareness. It included self-protection measures to detect and defeat surface and airborne threats in highly dense signal environments. The system was equipped with advanced radio frequency electronic countermeasures that allowed the F-15E to penetrate deeper through the modern air defense systems, increasing effectiveness and survivability. The first F-15E retrofitted with the system was delivered in 2022.
Subsequential F-15E batches were fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines. They were rated 17,800 lbs thrust each dry and 29,160 lbs thrust with afterburner.
The F-15E’s airframe rated 16,000 flight hours of service life for proper depot maintenance programs, which double the lifetime of earlier F-15s. The USAF has planned to keep operating the F-15E until 2035, and a handful of F-15Es were exported to Israel, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
Specifications
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike EagleGeneral Characteristics
- Crew: 2 (Pilot and Weapon Systems Officer)
- Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
- Height: 18 ft 5.5 in (5.63 m)
- Wingspan: 42 ft and 9.75 in (13.05 m)
- Wing Area: 608 sq ft (56.49 sq m)
- Powerplant: 2 x Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 afterburning turbofan engines
→ 58,200 lbf (258 kN) thrust A/B @ sea level
→ 35,600 lbf (158 kN) thrust dry @ sea level- Empty Weight: 31,700 lb (14,379 kg)
- Max. Takeoff Weight: 81,000 lb (36,741 kg)
- Internal Fuel: 12,915 lb (5,858 kg)
- Conformal Fuel: 22,267 lb (10,100 kg)
- Max. Payload: 23,000 lb (10,400 kg)
Performance
- Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 0.93 at gross weight
- Sea Level Speed: 921 mph (1,482 km/h)
- Critical Altitude Speed: Mach 2.5 (1,650 mph / 2,655 km/h)
- Wing loading: 89.02 lb/sq ft (434.63 kg/sq m)
- Rate of climb: 50,000 fpm (250 m/s)
- Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
- Combat Range: 791 miles (1,272 km)
- Maximum Range: 2,400 miles (3,900 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
Weapons System
- Avionics:
- AN/APG-70 or AN/APG-82
- AN/AXQ-14 Data Link System
- AN/ALR-56 radar warning receiver
- AN/ALQ-128 Electronic Warfare Warning Set
- AN/ALQ-135 internal radar jammer
- AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System
- Guns:
- 20mm M61A1 Vulcan (500 rounds)
- Hardpoints:
- Up to 15 hardpoints
- Air-to-Air Missiles:
- 4 x AIM-9L/M/X Sidewinders
- 4 x AIM-7F/M Sparrows
- 8 x AIM-120A/B/C/D AARAAMs
- Air-to-Ground Bombs:
- Mk 82/84 Bombs
- GBU-15
- GBU-10/12/24/27 Paveyways
- GBU-28 Bunker Buster
- BGU-31/38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions
- GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition
- GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb
- Air-to-Ground Missiles:
- AGM-65 Mavericks
- AGM-130
- AGM-154 JSOW
- AGM-158 JASSM
- Other:
- AN/ALE-45 Chaff/Flares dispenser system
- AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod
- AN/ASQ-236 radar pod
- AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN Targeting System pod
- AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack
- AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening
- AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod
- 3 x 600 US gal drop tanks
- 1 x 480 US gal drop tank
Conclusion | Why it should be in the game
With fourth-generation fighter aircraft in development and introduced to the game, this F-15E Strike Eagle would be a significant addition to US Aviation, as it carries the most air-to-ground weapons, more than any American jet fighter or strike fighter in the top tier, for ground-attack actions. In addition, the F-15E has lethal air-to-air weapons with advanced AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs along with electronic countermeasures, making it an adversary for anyone who attempted to engage and destroy it.
Sources
- https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104499/f-15e-strike-eagle/
- https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104604/anasq-236-radar-pod/
- F-15E Strike Eagle Archives | Air & Space Forces Magazine
- AIRFIGHTERS.COM - McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle Data and History
- https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/f15/
- https://www.baesystems.com/en/product/eagle-passive-active-warning-survivability-system-epawss
- F-15 Eagle Specifications
- F-15 Eagle - Military Aircraft
- Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) F-15E Strike Eagle Strike Fighter Aircraft
- AN/APG-70 - Radartutorial
- AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA Radar | Raytheon
- McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - The Aviation Zone
- McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle | This Day in Aviation
- LANTIRN - Wikipedia
- AN/APG-63 radar family - Wikipedia
- McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - Wikipedia
Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃