History
Design and Development
The F-15 Eagle was developed and introduced by McDonnell Douglas for the US Air Force to replace its aging fleet of F-4 Phantom IIs in the late 1970s. While the F-15 proved highly successful as an air superiority fighter, it was not initially suited for ground-attack roles. A popular slogan among its original designers was: “Not a pound for air to ground.” The design team had officially opposed assigning the F-15 to interdiction missions.
This stance changed as McDonnell Douglas anticipated the need for a replacement for both the General Dynamics F-111 and the remaining F-4s in the ground-attack role. The company began secretly working on a strike-oriented F-15 variant. In 1978, the US Air Force initiated the Tactical All-Weather Requirement Study, which evaluated various proposals, including McDonnell Douglas’s concept. The study ultimately recommended the F-15E as a promising future strike asset. McDonnell Douglas soon partnered with Hughes to develop the aircraft’s air-to-ground capabilities.
To advance the project, McDonnell Douglas modified the second TF-15A prototype (AF serial number 71-0291) into the “Advanced Fighter Capability Demonstrator,” which first flew on July 8, 1980. This aircraft had previously been used to test conformal fuel tanks and was later fitted with a Pave Tack laser designator pod to guide precision munitions. It was showcased at the 1980 Farnborough Airshow.
In March 1981, the Air Force publicly announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) program to find an official replacement for the F-111 Aardvark. This program was later renamed the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) competition. It called for a strike aircraft capable of deep penetration into enemy territory without the need for escort fighters or jamming support. McDonnell Douglas entered the F-15E, while General Dynamics submitted the F-16XL.
The competition lasted from 1981 through April 30, 1983. During this period, the F-15E prototype logged more than 200 test flights, demonstrated takeoff weights exceeding 75,000 pounds, and flew in 16 different weapons configurations. Ultimately, on February 24, 1984, the Air Force selected the F-15E. Its selection was primarily due to its lower development costs and greater growth potential.
The first of three F-15E prototypes was completed in July 1985, and one made its first flight in 1986. The F-15E was distinguished from other Eagles by its darker camouflage, conformal fuel tanks mounted along the engine intake ramps, and a two-seat cockpit layout. It was equipped with advanced avionics for air-to-ground operations, including multiple cockpit displays showing radar, electronic warfare status, thermographic imagery, weapon data, and digital moving maps.
The F-15E was powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 afterburning turbofans, each producing 14,590 pounds of dry thrust and 23,770 pounds with afterburner. It also featured the Raytheon AN/APG-70 X-band pulse-Doppler radar, a highly reliable and versatile upgrade of the APG-63 found in earlier F-15A/Bs. The radar could detect and track aerial and small, fast-moving ground targets up to 115 miles (185 km) away, even at treetop altitudes. Air-to-ground radar mapping could be frozen and overlaid with air-to-air radar returns to allow seamless engagement of both types of targets. The pilot typically focused on air threats, while the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) handled ground target acquisition and designation.
The Strike Eagle was also equipped with a laser gyroscope-based inertial navigation system, feeding positional data into the central computer and digital moving maps in both cockpits.
For low-altitude penetration, the F-15E could carry the LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) system beneath its engine intakes. The AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod under the right intake housed a terrain-following radar and forward-looking infrared (FLIR), which could be displayed on the HUD and coupled with the autopilot for hands-off terrain flight. The AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod under the left intake included a laser designator and FLIR camera, capable of marking targets up to 10 miles (16 km) away for laser-guided bombs and missiles. In later years, this system was often replaced by more advanced pods such as the AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening and AN/AAQ-33 Sniper.
The F-15E was also outfitted with the Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS), which integrated radar warning receivers, radar jammers, and chaff/flare dispensers to defend against enemy tracking and missile threats. An ALQ-131 ECM pod could be mounted on the centerline pylon for enhanced jamming. TEWS was capable of coordinating the entire suite to provide layered protection; for example, if a threat was detected by the radar warning receiver before the jammer, the system would direct the jammer to engage that specific threat band.
The F-15E retained the full air-to-air capabilities of earlier F-15s, including AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs, while expanding its arsenal with nearly the entire inventory of US conventional and nuclear air-to-ground munitions.
USAF Service
The US Air Force placed an order for 236 F-15E Strike Eagles, with production running from 1988 through 2001. The first F-15E was delivered to the 405th Tactical Training Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, in April 1988. By September 30, 1989, the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, had declared initial operational capability.
The F-15E’s combat debut came during the Gulf War in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Strike Eagles conducted deep interdiction missions targeting SAM sites, oil facilities, and armored formations in Iraq. Two F-15Es were lost to enemy fire, the only confirmed combat losses to date. The F-15E continued to serve in later conflicts, including in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Libya, and various operations in the Middle East, often in close air support roles.
In 2003, Boeing began upgrading the fleet under contracts for both the USAF and international customers. A major modernization effort replaced the APG-70 radar with the AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar beginning in 2007. This radar combined the APG-79 processor (from the F/A-18E/F) with the APG-63(V)3 AESA antenna (from the F-15C). It added advanced cooling and tunable RF filters, enabling simultaneous radar and jamming operation. The APG-82 greatly enhanced target detection, tracking, and identification at longer ranges in cluttered environments.
In 2015, Boeing and BAE Systems began installing the new AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS), which delivered fully integrated radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness, and self-protection measures. The system allowed the F-15E to penetrate advanced air defense networks with increased survivability. The first EPAWSS-upgraded F-15E was delivered in 2022.
Later production blocks of the F-15E were equipped with upgraded Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines, which produced 17,800 pounds of dry thrust and 29,160 pounds with afterburner.
The F-15E’s airframe was rated for a service life of 16,000 flight hours, double that of earlier F-15 models. The USAF plans to operate the Strike Eagle until at least 2035. Several export variants of the F-15E were delivered to Israel, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
