Fighter Jets

The F 15 Fighter Jet is an all-weather, extremely manoeuvrable, tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. The F 15’s air superiority is achieved through a mixture of manoeuvrability 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. Its weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. It can penetrate enemy defence and outperform and outfight current or projected enemy aircraft.

Quick Facts:

·         Name: F 15 Fighter Jet

·         Built By The McDonnell Douglas Corp.

·         Country: United States Of America

·         Primary Function Air Superiority Fighter Jet

·         Countries Using The F 15 Fighter Jet

·         United States Of America

·         Israel

·         Japan

·         Saudi Arabia

·         Armament (Below)

• Guns: 1× internally mounted 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Gatling gun, 940 rounds
• Hard points: four wing, four fuselage, two wing stations, centreline station, optional fuselage pylons with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg),

• Missiles:

• �
  • AIM-7F Sparrow
  • AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • AIM-9 Sidewinders

A variety of air-to-air weaponry can be carried by the F-15. An automated weapon system enables the pilot to perform aerial combat safely and effectively, using the head-up display and the avionics and weapons controls located on the engine throttles or control stick. When the pilot changes from one weapon system to another, visual guidance for the required weapon automatically appears on the head-up display.

The F-15 E is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. The rear cockpit is upgraded to include four multi-purpose CRT displays for aircraft systems and weapons management. The digital, triple-redundant Lear Siegler flight control system permits coupled automatic terrain following, enhanced by a ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system.

For low-altitude, high-speed penetration and precision attack on tactical targets at night or in adverse weather, the F-15 E carries a high-resolution APG-70 radar and low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night pods

The largest operator of the F-15 is the United States Air Force. The first Eagle (F-15 B) was delivered November 14, 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron, the 555th TFS, was delivered. These initial aircraft carried the Hughes Aircraft (now Raytheon) APG-63 radar.

The first kill in an F-15 was by IAF ace Moshe Melnik in 1979. In 1979–81 during Israeli-Lebanese border disputes, F-15 As downed 13 Syrian MiG-21 “Fishbeds” and two Syrian MiG-25 “Foxbats”, the latter being the aircraft the F-15 was designed to kill. F-15 A and B models were used by Israel during the Bekaa Valley operation. During the 1982 Lebanon War, the Israeli F-15 s shot down 40 Syrian jet fighter (23 MiG-21 “Fishbeds” and 17 MiG-23 “Floggers”) and one Syrian SA.342L Gazelle helicopter

Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 C pilots shot down two F-4E Phantom IIs flown by the Iranian Air Force in a border skirmish in June 1984, and shot down two Iraqi Mirage F1s during the Gulf War.

The USAF deployed F-15 C, D and E models to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm where they accounted for 36 of the 39 Air Force air-to-air victories. F-15 Es were operated mainly at night, hunting modified SCUD missile launchers and artillery sites using the LANTIRN system. According to the USAF, its F-15 Cs had 34 confirmed kills of Iraqi aircraft during the 1991 Gulf War, mostly by missile fire: five MiG-29 “Fulcrums”, two MiG-25 “Foxbats”, eight MiG-23 “Floggers”, two MiG-21 “Fishbeds”, two Su-25 “Frogfoots”, four Su-22 “Fitters”, one Su-7, six Mirage F1s, one Il-76 cargo plane, one Pilatus PC-9 trainer, and two Mi-8 helicopters. After air superiority was achieved in the first three days of the conflict, many of the later kills were reportedly of Iraqi aircraft fleeing to Iran, rather than actively trying to engage U.S. aircraft. The single-seat F-15 C was used for air superiority, and the F-15 E was heavily used in air-to-ground attacks. An F-15 E achieved an aerial kill of another Iraqi Mi-8 helicopter using a laser-guided bomb during the air war. The F-15 E sustained two losses to ground fire in the Gulf War in 1991. Another one was damaged on the ground by a SCUD strike on Dhahran air base.

They have since been deployed to support Operation Southern Watch, the patrolling of the 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 1994, two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks were downed by USAF F-15 Cs who thought they were Iraq Hinds in the Northern no-fly zone of Iraq in a friendly fire incident. USAF F-15 Cs shot down four Yugoslav MiG-29s using AIM-120 missiles during NATO’s 1999 intervention in Kosovo, Operation Allied Force.

The F-15 in all air forces had an air-to-air combined record of 104 kills to 0 losses in air combat as of February 2008. To date, no air superiority versions of the F-15 (A/B/C/D models) have ever been shot down by enemy forces. Over half of the F-15 kills were made by Israeli Air Force pilots.

General Characteristics
Primary function: Tactical fighter
Contractor: McDonnell Douglas Corp.
Power plant: Two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100, 220 or 229 turbofan engines with afterburners
Thrust: (C/D models) 23,450 pounds each engine
Wingspan: 42.8 feet (13 meters)
Length: 63.8 feet (19.44 meters)
Height: 18.5 feet (5.6 meters)�
Weight: 31,700 pounds
Maximum takeoff weight: (C/D models) 68,000 pounds (30,844 kilograms)
Fuel  Capacity: 36,200 pounds (three external plus conformal fuel tanks)
Payload: depends on mission
Speed: 1,875 mph (Mach 2 class)�
Ceiling: 65,000 feet (19,812 meters)
Range: 3,450 miles (3,000 nautical miles) ferry range with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
Crew: F-15 A/C: one. F-15 B/D/E: two
Armament: One internally mounted M-61A1 20mm 20-mm, six-barrel cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition; four AIM-9L/M Sidewinder and four AIM-7F/M Sparrow air-to-air missiles, or eight AIM-120 AMRAAMs, carried externally.
Unit Cost: A/B models - $27.9 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars);C/D models - $29.9 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Initial operating capability: September 1975
Inventory: Total force, 522

The F 15 Fighter Jet Is truly a Air Superiority Fighter Jet and one of the most used fighter jet’s of the United States Air Force and this alone gives this truly amazing jet its own Crown of the sky award!

Tags: F 15, Fighter Jet, Fighter Jets, Israel, Japan, McDonnell Douglas Corp, Saudi Arabia, USAF