F-15C Eagle
History:
The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat.
The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of unprecedented maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. The F-15's versatile pulse-Doppler radar system can look up at high-flying targets and down at low-flying targets without being confused by ground clutter. It can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances beyond visual range down to close range, and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar feeds target information into the central computer for effective weapons delivery. For close-in dogfights, the radar automatically acquires enemy aircraft, and this information is projected on the head-up display. The F-15's electronic warfare system provides both threat warning and automatic countermeasures against selected threats. The Eagle can be armed with combinations of four different air-to-air weapons: AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles or AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles on its lower fuselage corners, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder or AIM-120 missiles on two pylons under the wings, and an internal 20mm Gatling gun in the right wing root.
The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory in 1979. The F-15C was improved with the Multistage Improvement Program in 1985. Improvements included an upgraded central computer; a Programmable Armament Control Set, allowing for advanced versions of the AIM-7, AIM-9, and AIM-120A missiles; and an expanded Tactical Electronic Warfare System that provides improvements to the ALR-56C radar warning receiver and ALQ-135 countermeasure set. The final 43 included a Hughes APG-70 radar.
F-15C, D and E models were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm where they proved their superior combat capability. F-15C fighters accounted for 34 of the 37 Air Force air-to-air victories. They have since been deployed to support Operation Southern Watch, the patrolling of the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone in Southern Iraq; Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey; in support of NATO operations in Bosnia, and recent air expeditionary force deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. The F-15C is the Air Force's primary air superiority fighter, serving with active duty units at Langley AFB, VA, Eglin AFB, FL, Mountain Home AFB, ID, Elmendorf AFB, AK, Tyndall AFB, FL, Nellis AFB, NV, Spangdahlem AB, Germany, Lakenheath AB, England and Kadena AB, Okinawa.
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Facts & Specs:
| Function: | Tactical fighter |
| Dimensions (wingspan/length/height): | 13.06 m / 19.43 m / 5.69 m |
| Weight: | 12,800 kg empty; 30,600 kg max. takeoff weight |
| Engines: | 2 x Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners with 122,77 kN thrust each |
| Max. speed: | Mach 2.5 |
| Range: | 5520 km ferry range with external fuel tanks |
| Ceiling: | 19.697 m |
| Armament: | 1 x M-61A1 20mm multibarrel internal gun with 940 rounds, 4 x AIM-9L/M Sidewinder and 4 x AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles, or
combination of AIM-9L/M, AIM-7-F/M and AIM-120 missiles. |
| Crew: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | McDonnell Douglas Corp.; USA |
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