F-15E Strike Eagle
Encyclopedia
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing
) F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter
, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction
without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force
(USAF) F-15E Strike Eagles can be distinguished from other U.S. Eagle variants by darker camouflage
and conformal fuel tank
s mounted along the engine intakes.
The Strike Eagle has been deployed in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force
and Operation Odyssey Dawn
carrying out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrol
s, and providing close air support
for coalition troops. It has also seen action in later conflicts and has been exported to several countries.
In 1979, McDonnell Douglas
and F-15 radar manufacturer, Hughes
teamed to privately develop a strike
version of the F-15. In March 1981, the USAF announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) program to procure a replacement for the F-111 Aardvark
. The concept envisioned an aircraft capable of launching deep interdiction missions without requiring additional support by fighter escort or jamming. General Dynamics submitted the F-16XL, while McDonnell Douglas submitted a variant of the F-15 Eagle with two seats for a pilot and a weapons system officer
. On 24 February 1984, the USAF awarded the ETF contract to McDonnell Douglas' F-15E Strike Eagle. One of the prime reasons the USAF selected the F-15E over the F-16XL was the F-15E's 40% lower development costs. Other reasons were the F-15E's greater room for growth and better survivability with two engines. The Air Force initially planned to purchase 392 F-15Es.
The F-15E's first flight was on 11 December 1986. The first production model of the F-15E was delivered to the USAF in April 1988. Production continued through the 1990s until 2001 with 236 total produced for the Air Force. Variants of the F-15E have been developed for Israel (F-15I), South Korea (F-15K), Saudi Arabia (F-15S), and Singapore (F-15SG).
The F-15E will be upgraded with the Raytheon APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array
(AESA) radar after 2007, and the first test radar was delivered to Boeing in 2010. It combines the processor of the APG-79
used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
with the antenna of the APG-63(V)3 AESA being fitted on the F-15C. The new radar upgrade is to be part of the F-15E Radar Modernization Program. The new radar was named APG-63(V)4 until it received the APG-82 designation in 2009.
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While most of the F-15C/Ds are being replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E in its primary "deep strike" mission profile. The Strike Eagle is a more recent variant of the F-15, and has a sturdier airframe rated for twice the lifetime of earlier variants. The F-15Es are expected to remain in service past 2025. The USAF has pursued the Next-Generation Bomber, a medium bomber concept which could take over the Strike Eagle's "deep strike" profile. The F-35A Lightning II is projected to eventually replace many other attack aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II
, may also take over much of the F-15E's role, however the F-15E has better combat range under payload.
The F-15E prototype was a modification of the two-seat F-15B. The F-15E, despite its origins, includes significant structural changes and much more powerful engines. The back seat is equipped for a Weapon Systems Officer
(WSO pronounced 'wizzo') to work the new air-to-ground avionics
. The WSO uses multiple screens to display information from the radar
, electronic warfare
, or infrared sensors, monitor aircraft or weapons status and possible threats, select targets, and use an electronic moving map to navigate. Two hand controls are used to select new displays and to refine targeting information. Displays can be moved from one screen to another, chosen from a menu of display options. Unlike earlier two-place jets (e.g. the F-14 Tomcat
and Navy variants of the F-4), whose back seat lacked flying controls
, the back seat of the F-15E cockpit is equipped with its own stick and throttle so the WSO can take over flying, albeit with reduced visibility.
To extend its range, the F-15E is fitted with two conformal fuel tank
s (CFTs) that hug the fuselage, producing lower drag than conventional underwing/underbelly drop tank
s. They carry 750 U.S. gallons (2,800 liters) of fuel, and house six weapons hardpoint
s in two rows of three in tandem. Unlike conventional drop tanks, CFTs cannot be jettisoned, so the increased range comes at the cost of degraded performance as a result of the additional drag and weight versus a totally "clean" configuration. Similar tanks can be mounted on the F-15C/D and export variants, and the Israeli Air Force does exercise this option on their fighter-variant F-15s as well as their F-15I variant of the Strike Eagle, but the F-15E is the only U.S. variant to be routinely fitted with CFTs.
The Strike Eagle's tactical electronic warfare system (TEWS) integrates all countermeasures on the craft: radar warning receivers (RWR), radar jammer
, radar, and chaff
/flare
dispensers are all tied to the TEWS to provide comprehensive defense against detection and tracking. This system includes an externally mounted ALQ-131 ECM pod which is carried on the centerline pylon on an as needed basis.
An inertial navigation system uses a laser gyroscope
to continuously monitor the aircraft's position and provide information to the central computer and other systems, including a digital moving map in both cockpits.
The APG-70
radar system allows air crews to detect ground targets from longer ranges. One feature of this system is that after a sweep of a target area, the crew freezes the air-to-ground map then goes back into air-to-air mode to clear for air threats. During the air-to-surface weapon delivery, the pilot is capable of detecting, targeting and engaging air-to-air targets while the WSO designates the ground target. The APG-70 is to be replaced by the AN/APG-82(v)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA) radar, which will begin flight tests in January 2010 with initial operational capability expected in 2014.
The low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night (LANTIRN
) system, mounted externally under the engine intakes, allows the aircraft to fly at low altitudes, at night and in any weather conditions, to attack ground targets with a variety of precision-guided and unguided weapons. The LANTIRN system gives the F-15E exceptional accuracy in weapons delivery day or night and in poor weather, and consists of two pods attached to the exterior of the aircraft. At night, the video picture from the LANTIRN can be projected on the HUD
, producing an infrared image of ground contour.
The navigation pod contains terrain-following radar
which allows the pilot to safely fly at a very low altitude following cues displayed on a heads up display. This system also can be coupled to the aircraft's autopilot to provide "hands off" terrain-following capability. Additionally, the pod contains a forward looking infrared system which is projected on the pilot's HUD which is used during nighttime or low visibility operations. The AN/AAQ-13 Nav Pod is installed beneath the right engine intake.
The targeting pod contains a laser designator and a tracking system that mark an enemy for destruction as far away as 10 mi (16 km). Once tracking has been started, targeting information is automatically handed off to infrared air-to-surface missile
s or laser-guided bomb
s. The targeting pod is mounted beneath the left engine intake; configurations may be either the AN/AAQ-14 Target Pod, AN/AAQ-28 LITENING Target Pod or the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Pod.
For air-to-ground missions, the F-15E can carry most weapons in the USAF inventory. It also can be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder
s, AIM-7 Sparrow
and AIM-120 AMRAAM
s for self-defense (though the Strike Eagle retains the counter-air capabilities from its Eagle lineage, it is rarely if ever used for counter-air missions). Like the F-15C, the Strike Eagle also carries an internally mounted General Electric M61A1
20 mm cannon with 650 rounds, which is effective against enemy aircraft and "soft" ground targets.
BAE Systems
produces the MIDS Fighter Data Link Terminal which improves the situational awareness of Strike Eagle crews though Link 16
sharing of data.
LIG Nex1 has been manufacturing Head-Up Display
for F-15 since 2004. In February 2011, LIG Nex1 won a renewed contract to deliver 20 more HUD for the F-15 of USAF and other countries, bringing the total number of F-15 HUD delivered by LIG Nex1 to 150 by 2011. LIG Nex1 had previously participated in the HUD's development as Rockwell Collin's subcontractor in the F-15K program. LIG Nex1 is also preparing to manufacture F-15's new multi-function display and flight control computer.
Since 2004, Korea Aerospace Industries monopolized the production of the main wings and forward fuselages of new F-15 to be constructed. Production began in 2004 for the F-15K, and another production line was established in 2008 for Singapore's F-15SG. Korea Aerospace Industries will also design, develop, and manufacture the Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB) for the F-15 Silent Eagle.
, Luke Air Force Base
, Arizona, in April 1988. The "Strike Eagle", as it was dubbed, received initial operational capability on 30 September 1989 at Seymour Johnson AFB
in North Carolina with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing
, 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
The F-15E was deployed when Iraq
invaded Kuwait
in August 1990. The 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were ordered to prepare for deployment one week after the invasion. The 336th began their flight to Seeb Air Base in Oman, a 15 hour flight. Though mission-ready, the F-15Es were not cleared to carry the needed munitions to counter a possible Iraqi attack on Saudi Arabia
; they were cleared to carry only the 500 lb (226.8 kg) Mark 82 bomb
and 2000 lb (907.2 kg) Mark 84 bomb
. During training operations in Oman, one F-15E (336th) was lost on 30 September in a mock dogfight, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and WSO. In December the two F-15E squadrons were moved closer to Iraq, and deployed to Al Kharj
Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
On 17 January 1991, 24 F-15Es attacked five fixed Scud
installations in western Iraq and missions against Scud sites continued through the night with a second strike package consisting of 21 F-15Es. During the war, F-15Es flew hunter missions during the night over western Iraq, searching after mobile SCUD launchers that threatened neighboring countries. By conducting random bombings in suspected areas, F-15E crews hoped to deter the Iraqis from setting up for a Scud launch.
On the opening night of the war an F-15E tracked a MiG-29 and fired a AIM-9 Sidewinder
, which failed to hit its target. Several other F-15Es simultaneously tried to engage the lone MiG-29 but were unable to get the kill. One F-15E was actually flying past the Iraqi jet and maneuvered in for the kill but the pilot hesitated to take the shot because he was unsure of his wingmen's location and because he did not get a good tone with the Sidewinder missile. The MiG was eventually brought down by a missile of unknown origin. Another MiG-29 was shot down by his own wingman and an F-15E was close by to yet another MiG-29, but the pilot elected not to engage as there were US Navy F-14
s on the way to the area.
On the night of 18 January, during a strike against a petrol oil and lubricant plant near Basrah, an F-15E was lost to enemy fire and the pilot and WSO
were killed. F-15E crews described this mission as the most difficult and dangerous mission of the war as it was heavily defended by SA-3s, SA-6s, SA-8s and Roland
s as well as by anti-aircraft artillery. Two nights later, a second and final F-15E was downed by an Iraqi SA-2; the crew survived and managed to evade capture for several days and were even in contact with two coalition aircraft, but SAR crews were unable to rescue them due to security issues as one of the downed airmen did not properly identify himself on the radio with proper codes. The two airmen were later captured by the Iraqis.
Even though air-to-air kills had eluded the F-15Es, four Strike Eagles destroyed 18 Iraqi jets at Tallil air base using GBU-12s and CBU-87s. On 14 February, however, an F-15E scored its only air-to-air kill: a Mil Mi-24
helicopter. The attack was in response to a request for help by US Special Forces, when five Iraqi helicopters were spotted. The lead F-15E of a formation of two (from the 335th) acquired a helicopter unloading Iraqi soldiers through the FLIR pod and released a GBU-10. After 30 seconds, the F-15E crew thought the bomb had missed its target and the pilot was about to use a Sidewinder missile instead, but suddenly the Hind helicopter was vaporized. The Special Forces team estimated that the Hind was roughly 800 feet (243.8 m) over the ground when the 2000 lb (907.2 kg) bomb hit its target. But the air-to-air kill was not recognized until 2 November 2001. They tried to engage the other helicopters but an allied bombing started around the F-15E so the pilot decided to get out.
F-15E Strike Eagles continued to hunt SCUD missiles during the war and attack heavily defended targets all throughout Iraq. They also conducted secret missions attempting to kill Saddam Hussein
, bombing what were believed to be places where the Iraqi president was hiding, but without success. As the ground war was coming closer, F-15Es began tank plinking
, attacking Iraqi tanks and armoured personnel carrier
s in Kuwait.
Following 42 days of heavy combat for the F-15Es, a cease fire came into effect on 1 March 1991. Northern and Southern no-fly zones were quickly established over Iraq to prevent Iraqi aircraft from posing a threat to the Coalition. Despite this, Iraqi helicopters struck Kurdish
refugees in northern Iraq. The F-15Es enforcing the no-fly zone watched helplessly as 600 civilians in the village of Chamchamal
were attacked by helicopters. Since the F-15Es were not allowed to open fire, the aircraft made high speed passes as close as they dared in the hope that their wake turbulence would snap a rotor blade. They also fired their lasers into the cockpits of the Iraqi helicopters with intention of blinding the pilots. The latter technique was ineffective but the former did cause one Hind to crash. Soon USAF leadership became aware of these activities and ordered F-15Es not to fly below 10000 feet (3,048 m). F-15Es flew in support of Operation Provide Comfort
and Operation Provide Comfort II.
Following Desert Storm two no-fly zones were set up over Iraq and were policed mainly by US and UK aircraft. F-15Es from 494th Fighter Squadron
deployed to Turkey in 1993, 1994 and 1997. The 492d Fighter Squadron
deployed in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 391st FS deployed later the same year. F-15Es would fly into combat over the next decade on numerous occasions. In January 1993, a small package hit Iraqi targets that broke the rule of the ceasefire agreement below the 32nd parallel north
, an SA-3 was targeted. A few days later, ten F-15Es took part in another punitive strike. Most of the time missions flown in support of OSW and ONW were defensive; as the Strike Eagles could carry a lot of weapons of various types into a mission, it gave the F-15 crews a lot of flexibility. The F-15Es operated under the close supervision of AWACS and crews could receive airborne taskings and could fly unplanned attacks against Iraqi targets.
During the next three years, violations of the no-fly zones were minimal as Iraq slightly withdrew its forces, and in 1997 Turkey
approved the creation of ONW and permitted US forces to use the Incirlik
air base. In December 1998, Operation Desert Fox
was conducted because Iraq refused UNSCOM inspections. On 28 December 1998, three F-15Es each dropped two GBU-12 500-pound precision-guided munitions (PGMs). Two of the F-15Es hit an SA-3 target site tracking radar and optical guidance unit. The other F-15E had one bomb hit the SA-3 missile site command and control van, and the other hit the target site tracking radar and optical guidance unit. The other F-15E in the four-ship formation did not drop any bombs because it lacked positive target identification.
After Desert Fox, Iraq stepped up its violations of the no-fly zones and a lot of retaliatory and pre-planned strikes were conducted by F-15Es. In ONW alone, weapons were expended on at least 105 days. Between 24 and 26 January 1999, F-15Es expended several AGM-130
s and GBU-12s against SAM sites in northern Iraq near Mosul
. F-15Es were the most highly-tasked of all USAF tactical fighters in the region, particularly due to their extended range and payload compared to the F-16s. F-15Es usually attacked ammunition bunkers, command and control facilities, towed 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft batteries, and SA-3/6 launchers. F-15Es would also fly combat air patrols over Iraq and also co-operated with other aircraft in strikes, such as USN F-14s, F/A-18s, EA-6Bs, USAF F-16s and RAF Tornado GR4s.
Operation Deny Flight
was a United Nations enforced no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina
as the situation in the Balkans
had deteriorated over many years. In August 1993, after a UN Security Council resolution that banned all fixed and rotary wing aircraft unless authorized by the UN, F-15E’s from 492d and 494th FS deployed to Aviano
in Italy. By late 1993, the situation had worsened and NATO ordered a limited F-15E strike against Serbia
n targets in Croatia
, targeting the Udbina
airfield. Eight F-15Es armed with GBU-12s were to attack an SA-6 as part of a 30-aircraft strike package. The mission was cancelled in mid-flight as the F-15Es could not prosecute the attack due to stringent Rules of Engagement. In December the same year F-15Es were launched to destroy a pair of SA-2 sites which had opened fire on two Royal Navy
Sea Harrier FRS 1s. Most missions flown by the Strike Eagles were non-combat sorties, but they were fired upon quite often. In August 1995, 90th Fighter Squadron
joined the two other F-15E squadrons. The 492d and 494th had flown over 2500 sorties since Deny Flight had begun, and 2000 of these were credited to 492d as they had been deployed longer than 494th. On 30 and 31 August in support of NATO's Operation Deliberate Force, strikes were carried out with GBU-10s and GBU-12s, F-15Es struck Serbian armor and supplies around Sarajevo
. On 5 September more GBU-12s were dropped and four days later a GBU-15 were dropped for the first time from a Strike Eagle, and in the end nine were dropped against air defense targets and Bosnian-Serb ground forces around Banja Luka
.
Following the displacement of Kosovar
s and the government of Serbia rejecting a NATO ultimatum, Operation Allied Force
was launched in March 1999. 26 F-15Es from the 492d and 494th FS in-theater concentrated the first strikes of the war against Serb surface-to-air-missile sites, anti-aircraft batteries and Early Warning radar stations. These Strike Eagles were deployed to Aviano as well as Lakenheath in Great Britain, the only Strike Eagle units in the USAF to conduct Close Air Support
missions, which was a new idea in the late 1990s but is now conducted by the entire air force (F-15Es, F-16s and A-10
s). Most missions would last around 7.5 hours and included two aerial refuellings and F-15Es would carry a mix of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions so they could fly both a Combat Air Patrol
s and then drop bombs on targets before returning home.
The largest threats to NATO aircraft were the Serb's mobile SAM launchers. F-15E crews were very vigilant towards this threat as several aircraft had been lost in the past, most notably the F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down during the war. When the threat was too great, or specific weapon effects were required, the AGM-130
was used to provide stand-off distance to the target. It was successfully used against two MiG-29s on the ground. The AGM-130 is a very expensive weapon and was only used against specific targets or when crews wanted to control their weapon in the flight to achieve maximum efficiency against targets. The WSO can steer the weapon to the target, or even abort and steer the weapon in to the ground far away from civilians if a target is too close to civilian areas such as churches. It was off-limits for NATO crews to attack targets around such buildings. It was an F-15E armed with an AGM-130 that struck a bridge
just as a passenger train crossed, resulting in the loss of 14 civilian lives. In June 1999 Slobodan Milosevic ordered withdrawal from Kosovo.
Following the in 2001, 391st Fighter Squadron
left for Ahmed Al Jaber
air base in Kuwait 31 days later. The unit had been scheduled to participate in Operation Southern Watch, but now they were going to support Operation Enduring Freedom. During the first attacks the F-15Es met little resistance, and for the first night's military buildings, Taliban supply depots, caves and al-Qaeda
training camps were the main targets. Both the AGM-130 and GBU-15
2000 lb (907.2 kg) bombs were expended, and this was the first combat experience with the GBU-15. GBU-24s and GBU-28
s were used against reinforced targets, command and control centrers and cave entrances. F-15Es would often operate as two-ship flights alongside two-ship F-16Cs. Within weeks almost all targets had been destroyed and it was hard to find meaningful targets. The Taliban had access to SA-7 and FIM-92 Stinger
portable surface-to-air missiles which posed no threat towards US aircraft as long as they flew above 7000 feet (2,133.6 m), and the fixed SAM sites near such cities as Mazar-I-Sharif and Bagram were struck very early in the campaign, so it was a very "low-threat" environment.
Within three weeks, aircraft began to fly on-call support missions for allied ground forces where F-15Es usually carried MK-82 and GBU-12 bombs, but also other weapons were carried, and during one mission a GBU-28, two GBU-24s and six GBU-12s were released. The most frequent targets during the rest of the war were people, vehicles and convoys, and not only bombs were expended, on several occasions F-15Es used the internal gun as well. During the course of the three-month deployment in support of OEF, four 391st crews conducted the longest fighter mission in history; it lasted 15.5 hours and nine of those were spent over the target area. Two F-15Es attacked two Taliban command and control facilities, two buildings suspected to shelter Taliban fighters, and a Taliban road block. The F-15Es refueled 12 times during the mission. On 7 January 2002 the 391st FS returned home and 335th FS took over, the 391st FS had flown two to eight sorties a day during their deployment. The 391st would highlight their deployment by expending the BLU-118/B
for the first time in combat; it was used to flush out Taliban fighters hiding in caves.
The other highlight of the deployment occurred on 4 March when a section of F-15Es supported what would be known as the Battle of Roberts’ Ridge
. The F-15Es first flew an on-call Close Air Support mission for "Texas 14" on the ground by destroying a Taliban observation position. 16 minutes later, at 0141 hours, "Mako 30" had come under mortar fire and the F-15Es rushed to the location. It was soon learned that the soldier in contact with the F-15Es was not a Forward Air Controller. It was later learned that the soldier was a Navy SEAL, and part of a team searching for an MH-47E Chinook following an ambushed insertion point in the Shah-i-Kot Valley
. Nonetheless, the F-15Es dropped a GBU-12, but the SEAL team was still taking fire as they moved east with two wounded and one Killed In Action
. A second bomb was dropped, but due to the wrong coordinates being entered into the Strike Eagle's computer the weapon missed. During the effort to support the SEAL Team a MH-47 carrying a rescue team was downed by an RPG.
During all this, the F-15Es had just finished refueling and were instructed to work with "Texas 14", a third team on the ridge. The F-15Es dropped eleven GBU-12s between 0252 and 0303 hours to aid the forces on the ground. Soon the F-15Es had to support the survivors from the downed MH-47 that had enemy contact some 75 meters from their position. The Strike Eagles could not use bombs, so they went with guns; they used the downed helicopters as a reference point and started to make gun passes. One Strike Eagle had to get back to the tanker, and the lone F-15E talked to AWACS to get some other aircraft to this location to strafe as well. A section of F-16s from 18th Fighter Squadron arrived and made some passes as well. It was soon decided that they had to drop bombs, as both the Strike Eagles and the Falcons had run out of ammunition. The F-15Es by now had been instructed by AWACS to return home, but they could support the forces and then return immediately after that. After some problems with radios and weapons that failed to drop, the F-15Es eventually each dropped a GBU-12 and requested to drop the remaining bombs, but were ordered to return to Al Jaber in Kuwait.
A friendly fire
incident took place on 23 August 2007 when an F-15E, called in for close air support
north west of Kajaki
, Afghanistan, mistakenly dropped a 500 lb (226.8 kg) bomb on British forces, killing three soldiers. Confusion between the air controller and the F-15E air crew on the bombing coordinates led to the incident.
On the 13 September 2009, an F-15E used an AIM-9 Sidewinder to shoot down an MQ-9 Reaper over Northern Afghanistan. Operators had, for some unknown reason, lost control of the Reaper, and a Strike Eagle was dispatched to ensure that the drone did not leave Afghanistan.
In late 2002, tension over suspected Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was growing, and so the 4th Fighter Wing
at Seymour Johnson AFB was ordered to have at least one squadron ready to deploy to the Persian Gulf
. The 336th was selected to deploy first, to Al Udeid Air Base
, Qatar
. During 11–17 January 2003, 24 aircraft deployed to the air base and preparations began which involved a briefing by planners from the Combined Air Operations Center at Prince Sultan Air Base
in Saudi Arabia. The 336th was grounded for some time until 27 January when the governments of the United States and Qatar concluded their diplomatic problems and permissions to fly was finally given. The F-15Es began flying missions in support of Operation Southern Watch, mostly surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well simulated missions against potential targets in Iraq, and if needed they could attack them as well, as well as familiarize themselves with Rules of Engagement
s, local area procedures, working with AWACS and flying over hostile territory. During OSW F-15Es attacked targets mostly in southern and western Iraq, radars, radio relay stations, communications, command and control sites, and air defences were targeted. On one night four F-15Es fired multiple GBU-24s at the Iraqi Republican Guard
/Baath Party
HQ in Basrah while another flight of four destroyed a nearby Air Defense Sector HQ with six GBU-10s.
Towards the end of February the 336th received additional aircrews and the units consisted of 150 pilots and WSOs, many of them were drafted from the two non-deployable fighter squadrons at Seymour Johnson (the 333d
and 334th Fighter Squadrons
) and 391st Fighter Squadron
at Mountain Home Air Force Base
, this meant that there were four aircrews per F-15E. In early March the 335th Fighter Squadron's personnel and aircraft were deployed and joined the 336th at Al Udeid. One objective at the end of OSW was to take down Iraq's air defenses and Early Warning radar network near the border to Jordan
so F-16s and Special Forces
helicopters could operate from out of Jordan when the war started. Several radar sites and radio relay stations were hit in western Iraq near the "H3" airfield, during these missions coalition jets were greeted by heavy anti-aircraft artillery.
At the same time as F-117 Nighthawk
s dropped bombs over Baghdad
on 19 March, on a house where Saddam Hussein was believed to be; F-15Es dropped GBU-28s around the H3 airfield while other F-15Es conducted strikes part of OSW. On 20 March, when the war had effectively begun, F-15Es dropped AGM-130s against key communication, command and control buildings, and leadership targets in Baghdad; a few of the weapons missed intended targets, possibly having been affected by jamming operations from EA-6B Prowlers in the vicinity. Veteran-crewed F-15Es would work closely with Special Forces operating inside Iraq, such mission details are classified. F-15Es would typically circle around an area and the Special Forces directed them to attack ground targets. On more than one occasion, strafing runs using the aircraft's guns to hit threats towards the Special Forces teams were conducted, because the targets were too close for bombs to be used.
On 3 April 2003 a F-15E pilot mistook a M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
(MLRS) for an Iraqi surface-to-air missile site and dropped a 500 lb (226.8 kg) laser guided bomb, killing three and wounding five others. On 6 April 2003 an F-15E (88-1694), crewed by Captain Eric Das and Major William Watkins performed a critical interdiction mission in support of special forces. On the following day, Das and Watkins crashed while bombing targets around Tikrit
. The crew were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
and the Purple Heart
for their actions.
During the war, F-15Es were credited with destroying 60% of the total force of the Iraqi Medina Republican Guard. They also scored hits on 65 MiGs on the ground, and destroyed key air defense and command buildings in Baghdad. During the war F-15Es worked closely with other jets that were deployed to Al Udeid, including RAAF F/A-18s
, USAF F-16s and F-117s, RAF Panavia Tornado
fighters and a detachment of US Navy F-14s from VF-154. Many aircraft used the F-15E to locate, identify and hand-off targets to them, including B-1B
s, B-52s, Navy/Marine Corps
F/A-18, AV-8Bs and F-14s.
on 17 March 2011, 10 USAF F-15E fighters, and a variety of other NATO and allied aircraft were deployed to enforce the Libyan no-fly zone as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn
. On 21 March 2011, an F-15E Strike Eagle 91-304 crashed in Libya, near Bengazi. Both crew members parachuted into territory held by resistance elements of the Libyan population and were eventually rescued by US Marines. An equipment malfunction is the reason stated for the crash.
and the AIM-120 AMRAAM
radar-guided missiles. The Python 4 can be launched at up to 90 degrees off boresight, with the pilot aiming using the helmet-mounted sight. For BVR engagements, it can use either the AIM-7 or the AIM-120.
In 1999, Israel announced its intention to procure more fighter aircraft, and the F-15I was a possible contender. However, it was announced that the contract would go to the F-16I, a specialized version of the Fighting Falcon.
Israeli F-15Is carry the APG-70I radar with one third the resolution of the American system.
in the northern Yemeni region of Sa'dah
. This was the first time since Operation Desert Storm in 1991 that the Saudi Air Force took part in a military operation over hostile territory.
Saudi Arabia requested 84 F-15SA aircraft, upgrade of its F-15S fleet to F-15SA standard, and related equipment and weapons through a Foreign Military Sale
in October 2010. The F-15SA (Saudi Advanced) variant includes the APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array
(AESA) radar, digital electronic warfare systems (DEWS), infrared search and track (IRST) systems, and other advanced systems.
The F-15I is operated by the Israeli Air Force
where it is known as the Ra'am (רעם – "Thunder"). It is a dual-seat ground attack aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229
engines, and is based on the F-15E.
After the Gulf War
in 1991, in which Israeli towns were attacked by SCUD missiles based in Iraq, the Israeli government decided that it needed a long range strike aircraft and issued a Request for Information (RFI). In response, Lockheed Martin
offered a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, while McDonnell Douglas
offered both the F/A-18 Hornet
and the F-15E. On 27 January 1994, the Israeli government announced that the intention to purchase 21 modified F-15Es, designated F-15I. On 12 May 1994, the US Government authorized the purchase of up to 25 F-15Is by Israel. In November 1995, Israel ordered 4 extra F-15Is, thus 25 were built from 1996 to 1998.
The F-15I Ra'am is similar to the F-15E, however the F-15I has some avionic systems specifically to meet Israeli requirements. To facilitate night-time strikes, the F-15Is were initially fitted with Sharpshooter targeting pods designed for Israeli F-16s. The Sharpshooter pod was less capable than the LANTIRN
pods used on USAF F-15Es, the United States later allowed Israel to buy LANTIRNs instead, 30 LANTIRN pods were eventually delivered. The F-15Is, as delivered, did not have any Radar Warning Receiver
s, thus Israel installed its own electronic warfare equipment, the Elisra SPS-2110. A central computer and embedded GPS/INS system have also been fitted. All of the aircraft's sensors can be slaved to the Display And Sight Helmet (DASH) helmet-mounted sight, giving both crew members an entire means of targeting which the F-15E lacks. The F-15I uses the APG-70 radar; using the radar's terrain mapping capability, it is possible to locate targets that are otherwise difficult to spot—e.g., missile batteries, tanks and structures—even in adverse conditions such as complete fog cover or heavy rain. The radar can detect large airliner-sized targets at 150 nautical miles, and fighter-sized targets at 56 nautical miles.
The F-15K Slam Eagle (Korean: F-15K 슬램 이글
) is an advanced derivative of the F-15E, operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force
. Several major components for the aircraft were outsourced by Boeing to various Korean companies for local production as part of an offset agreement
, wherein Korea will be responsible for 40% of production and 25% of assembly and subassembly of the Slam Eagles. Fuselage and wings are supplied by Korea Aerospace Industries, flight control actuator by Hanwha Corporation
, electronic jammer
and radar warning receiver
by Samsung Thales
, Head-up display
, airborne communication system, and radar by LIG Nex1, and engines by Samsung Techwin
under license before final assembly by Boeing at its St. Louis main facility.
In 2002, ROKAF selected the F-15K for its F-X fighter program, during which the Boeing F-15K, the Dassault Rafale
, the Eurofighter Typhoon
and Sukhoi Su-35
were evaluated. A total 40 aircraft were ordered with deliveries beginning in 2005. On 25 April 2008, the Korean government announced the order of second batch of 21 F-15Ks, worth 2.3 trillion Korean won (US$ 2.3 billion). The delivery is scheduled between 2010 and 2012. Aircraft of second batch differs from the first batch in having Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 (EEP)
engines for commonality with the KF-16 fleet; forty-six engines are being license-procuded by Samsung Techwin. Republic of Korea Air Force
has received 50 F-15Ks by June 2011.
The F-15K variant has several features not typically found on F-15Es, such as an AAS-42 Infra-red search and track
, a customized Tactical Electronics Warfare Suite to reduce weight and increase jamming effectiveness, cockpit compatibility with night vision device
, ARC-232 U/VHF radio with Fighter Data Link
system, and advanced APG-63(V)1
mechanical scanned array radar with NCTR capabilities. The APG-63(V)1 radar has a common digital processing back-end with the APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, and could be quickly upgraded to an AESA radar by replacing the mechanically scanning antenna with an AESA antenna. The F-15K is equipped with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. Weapons such as AGM-84K SLAM-ER ATA
, AGM-84H Harpoon Block II, and JASSM have been integrated. Two General Electric F110-GE-129
29,400 lbf (131 kN) engines power the F-15K, delivering increased thrust over the base F-15E.
mode. The version was initially referred to as F-15XP. 72 were built from 1996 to 1998. In October 2007, GE announced a contract with Saudi Arabia for 65 GE F110-GE-129C engines for the F-15S in a contract worth over US$300 million.
The F-15SG (formerly the F-15T) is a variant of the F-15E, currently ordered by the Republic of Singapore Air Force
(RSAF) after a seven-year evaluation period involving five other fighter aircraft under consideration. The F-15SG was chosen on 6 September 2005 over the Dassault Rafale
, the only remaining aircraft still in contention.
The F-15SG is similar in configuration to the F-15K sold to South Korea, but differs in the addition of the APG-63(V)3
active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar developed by Raytheon
. The F-15SG will be powered by two General Electric
F110-GE-129
29400 lbf (130.8 kN) thrust engines.
Pending news on the progress of the F-35 program, the RSAF placed an order of 12 aircraft with an option for 8 more to replace its A-4SUs. The purchase is part of the New Fighter Replacement Program, worth about US$1 billion, which will be the most expensive single fighter aircraft purchase by the RSAF.
On 22 August 2005, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency
(DSCA) notified US Congress about a potential Foreign military sales
(FMS) of weapons, logistics and training in the event that the Boeing F-15 was selected by Singapore. Since the F-15 purchase has now been confirmed, it can be assumed that Singapore will follow up on this proposed weapons and logistics package, worth a further US$741 million if all options are exercised. Various weapons and hardware are included in this package such as AIM-120C, and AIM-9X missiles; GBU-38 JDAM, and AGM-154 JSOW air-to-surface weapons; Night Vision Goggles and Link 16
terminals.
The Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on 22 October 2007, exercised the option to purchase eight more F-15SG fighters which was part of the original contract signed in 2005. Along with this buy, an additional order of four F-15SGs increases total to 24 fighters on order. The first F-15SG was rolled out on 3 November 2008. Deliveries of F-15SGs began in second quarter of 2009 and will continue to 2012.
In July 2010, at least 12 have been delivered – 6 of which traveled to its home base in Singapore
, while the others are with the long-term training detachment at Mountain Home Air Force Base
, Idaho.
F-15G Wild Weasel was a proposed two-seat version to replace the F-4G Wild Weasel
in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role. The F-15G was studied in 1986. A proposed modification to F-15Cs for the SEAD role was studied in 1994–95, but F-16Cs were modified to perform this role instead.
F-15SE Silent Eagle
is a further developed version of the F-15E by Boeing using fifth generation fighter features, such as internal weapons carriage and radar-absorbent material.
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
) F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter
Multirole combat aircraft
A multirole combat aircraft is an aircraft designed to act in at least two different roles in combat. The primary role is usually a fighter—hence, it is as often called a multirole fighter—while the secondary role is usually air-to-surface attack. More roles are added, such as air reconnaissance,...
, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction
Air interdiction
Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...
without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) F-15E Strike Eagles can be distinguished from other U.S. Eagle variants by darker camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
and conformal fuel tank
Conformal fuel tank
Conformal fuel tanks are additional fuel tanks fitted closely to the profile of an aircraft which extend either the range or "time on station" of the aircraft, with a reduced aerodynamic penalty compared to external drop tanks....
s mounted along the engine intakes.
The Strike Eagle has been deployed in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
and Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the US part of the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued afterwards under NATO command as Operation Unified Protector...
carrying out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
s, and providing close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
for coalition troops. It has also seen action in later conflicts and has been exported to several countries.
Development
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
and F-15 radar manufacturer, Hughes
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
teamed to privately develop a strike
Strike fighter
In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers...
version of the F-15. In March 1981, the USAF announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) program to procure a replacement for the F-111 Aardvark
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
. The concept envisioned an aircraft capable of launching deep interdiction missions without requiring additional support by fighter escort or jamming. General Dynamics submitted the F-16XL, while McDonnell Douglas submitted a variant of the F-15 Eagle with two seats for a pilot and a weapons system officer
Weapon systems officer
A Weapon Systems Officer is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the fighter in the United States Navy. A Weapon Systems Officer ("WSO", pronounced "wizzo") is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the...
. On 24 February 1984, the USAF awarded the ETF contract to McDonnell Douglas' F-15E Strike Eagle. One of the prime reasons the USAF selected the F-15E over the F-16XL was the F-15E's 40% lower development costs. Other reasons were the F-15E's greater room for growth and better survivability with two engines. The Air Force initially planned to purchase 392 F-15Es.
The F-15E's first flight was on 11 December 1986. The first production model of the F-15E was delivered to the USAF in April 1988. Production continued through the 1990s until 2001 with 236 total produced for the Air Force. Variants of the F-15E have been developed for Israel (F-15I), South Korea (F-15K), Saudi Arabia (F-15S), and Singapore (F-15SG).
The F-15E will be upgraded with the Raytheon APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array
Active Electronically Scanned Array
An Active Electronically Scanned Array , also known as active phased array radar is a type of phased array radar whose transmitter and receiver functions are composed of numerous small solid-state transmit/receive modules . AESAs aim their "beam" by broadcasting radio energy that interfere...
(AESA) radar after 2007, and the first test radar was delivered to Boeing in 2010. It combines the processor of the APG-79
APG-79
The AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar is a new development for the United States Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft, providing a high level of aircrew situational awareness. The beam of the AESA radar provides nearly instantaneous track updates and...
used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
with the antenna of the APG-63(V)3 AESA being fitted on the F-15C. The new radar upgrade is to be part of the F-15E Radar Modernization Program. The new radar was named APG-63(V)4 until it received the APG-82 designation in 2009.
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
, may also take over much of the F-15E's role, however the F-15E has better combat range under payload.
Design
The F-15E's deep strike mission is a radical departure from the original intent of the F-15, since the F-15 was designed as an air superiority fighter under the mantra "not a pound for air-to-ground." The basic airframe, however, proved versatile enough to produce a very capable strike fighter. The F-15E, while designed for ground attack, retains the air-to-air lethality of the F-15, and can defend itself against enemy aircraft.The F-15E prototype was a modification of the two-seat F-15B. The F-15E, despite its origins, includes significant structural changes and much more powerful engines. The back seat is equipped for a Weapon Systems Officer
Weapon systems officer
A Weapon Systems Officer is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the fighter in the United States Navy. A Weapon Systems Officer ("WSO", pronounced "wizzo") is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the...
(WSO pronounced 'wizzo') to work the new air-to-ground avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
. The WSO uses multiple screens to display information from the radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, electronic warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
, or infrared sensors, monitor aircraft or weapons status and possible threats, select targets, and use an electronic moving map to navigate. Two hand controls are used to select new displays and to refine targeting information. Displays can be moved from one screen to another, chosen from a menu of display options. Unlike earlier two-place jets (e.g. the F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
and Navy variants of the F-4), whose back seat lacked flying controls
Aircraft flight control systems
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight...
, the back seat of the F-15E cockpit is equipped with its own stick and throttle so the WSO can take over flying, albeit with reduced visibility.
Conformal fuel tank
Conformal fuel tanks are additional fuel tanks fitted closely to the profile of an aircraft which extend either the range or "time on station" of the aircraft, with a reduced aerodynamic penalty compared to external drop tanks....
s (CFTs) that hug the fuselage, producing lower drag than conventional underwing/underbelly drop tank
Drop tank
In aeronautics, a drop tank is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often jettisonable...
s. They carry 750 U.S. gallons (2,800 liters) of fuel, and house six weapons hardpoint
Hardpoint
A hardpoint, or weapon station, is any part of an airframe designed to carry an external load. This includes a point on the wing or fuselage of military aircraft where external ordnance, countermeasures, gun pods, targeting pods or drop tanks can be mounted.-Rail launchers:Large missiles and...
s in two rows of three in tandem. Unlike conventional drop tanks, CFTs cannot be jettisoned, so the increased range comes at the cost of degraded performance as a result of the additional drag and weight versus a totally "clean" configuration. Similar tanks can be mounted on the F-15C/D and export variants, and the Israeli Air Force does exercise this option on their fighter-variant F-15s as well as their F-15I variant of the Strike Eagle, but the F-15E is the only U.S. variant to be routinely fitted with CFTs.
The Strike Eagle's tactical electronic warfare system (TEWS) integrates all countermeasures on the craft: radar warning receivers (RWR), radar jammer
Radar jamming and deception
Radar jamming and deception is the intentional emission of radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of a radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information...
, radar, and chaff
Chaff (radar countermeasure)
Chaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the Second World War era German Luftwaffe , is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallized glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...
/flare
Flare (countermeasure)
A flare is an aerial infrared countermeasure to counter an infrared homing surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile. Flares are commonly composed of a pyrotechnic composition based on magnesium or another hot-burning metal, with burning temperature equal to or hotter than engine exhaust...
dispensers are all tied to the TEWS to provide comprehensive defense against detection and tracking. This system includes an externally mounted ALQ-131 ECM pod which is carried on the centerline pylon on an as needed basis.
An inertial navigation system uses a laser gyroscope
Ring laser gyroscope
A ring laser gyroscope consists of a ring laser having two counter-propagating modes over the same path in order to detect rotation. It operates on the principle of the Sagnac effect which shifts the nulls of the internal standing wave pattern in response to angular rotation...
to continuously monitor the aircraft's position and provide information to the central computer and other systems, including a digital moving map in both cockpits.
The APG-70
APG-63 and APG-70 radars
The AN/APG-63 and AN/APG-70 are a family of all-weather multimode radar systems designed by Hughes Aircraft for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. These X-band pulse-doppler radar systems are designed for both air-air and air-ground missions; they are able to look up at high-flying targets...
radar system allows air crews to detect ground targets from longer ranges. One feature of this system is that after a sweep of a target area, the crew freezes the air-to-ground map then goes back into air-to-air mode to clear for air threats. During the air-to-surface weapon delivery, the pilot is capable of detecting, targeting and engaging air-to-air targets while the WSO designates the ground target. The APG-70 is to be replaced by the AN/APG-82(v)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA) radar, which will begin flight tests in January 2010 with initial operational capability expected in 2014.
The low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night (LANTIRN
LANTIRN
Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, or LANTIRN, is a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the USAF's premier fighter aircraft — the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon...
) system, mounted externally under the engine intakes, allows the aircraft to fly at low altitudes, at night and in any weather conditions, to attack ground targets with a variety of precision-guided and unguided weapons. The LANTIRN system gives the F-15E exceptional accuracy in weapons delivery day or night and in poor weather, and consists of two pods attached to the exterior of the aircraft. At night, the video picture from the LANTIRN can be projected on the HUD
Head-Up Display
A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...
, producing an infrared image of ground contour.
The navigation pod contains terrain-following radar
Terrain-following radar
Terrain-following radar is an aerospace technology that allows a very-low-flying aircraft to automatically maintain a relatively constant altitude above ground level. It is sometimes referred-to as ground hugging or terrain hugging flight...
which allows the pilot to safely fly at a very low altitude following cues displayed on a heads up display. This system also can be coupled to the aircraft's autopilot to provide "hands off" terrain-following capability. Additionally, the pod contains a forward looking infrared system which is projected on the pilot's HUD which is used during nighttime or low visibility operations. The AN/AAQ-13 Nav Pod is installed beneath the right engine intake.
The targeting pod contains a laser designator and a tracking system that mark an enemy for destruction as far away as 10 mi (16 km). Once tracking has been started, targeting information is automatically handed off to infrared air-to-surface missile
Air-to-surface missile
An air-to-surface missile is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both...
s or laser-guided bomb
Laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. LGBs are one of the most common and widespread guided bombs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.- Overview :Laser-guided munitions use a...
s. The targeting pod is mounted beneath the left engine intake; configurations may be either the AN/AAQ-14 Target Pod, AN/AAQ-28 LITENING Target Pod or the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Pod.
For air-to-ground missions, the F-15E can carry most weapons in the USAF inventory. It also can be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
s, AIM-7 Sparrow
AIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as various allied air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual...
and AIM-120 AMRAAM
AIM-120 AMRAAM
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM , is a modern beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. Designed with the same form-factor as the previous generation of semi-active guided Sparrow missiles, it is a fire-and-forget...
s for self-defense (though the Strike Eagle retains the counter-air capabilities from its Eagle lineage, it is rarely if ever used for counter-air missions). Like the F-15C, the Strike Eagle also carries an internally mounted General Electric M61A1
M61 Vulcan
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically or pneumatically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm rounds at an extremely high rate. The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft...
20 mm cannon with 650 rounds, which is effective against enemy aircraft and "soft" ground targets.
BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
produces the MIDS Fighter Data Link Terminal which improves the situational awareness of Strike Eagle crews though Link 16
Link 16
Link 16 is a military tactical data exchange network created and used by the United States and adopted by some of its Allies and by NATO. Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links....
sharing of data.
LIG Nex1 has been manufacturing Head-Up Display
Head-Up Display
A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...
for F-15 since 2004. In February 2011, LIG Nex1 won a renewed contract to deliver 20 more HUD for the F-15 of USAF and other countries, bringing the total number of F-15 HUD delivered by LIG Nex1 to 150 by 2011. LIG Nex1 had previously participated in the HUD's development as Rockwell Collin's subcontractor in the F-15K program. LIG Nex1 is also preparing to manufacture F-15's new multi-function display and flight control computer.
Since 2004, Korea Aerospace Industries monopolized the production of the main wings and forward fuselages of new F-15 to be constructed. Production began in 2004 for the F-15K, and another production line was established in 2008 for Singapore's F-15SG. Korea Aerospace Industries will also design, develop, and manufacture the Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB) for the F-15 Silent Eagle.
United States
The first production F-15E was delivered to the 405th Tactical Training Wing405th Air Expeditionary Wing
The 405th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time.Currently, it is believed that the 405 AEW is stationed at Thumrait AB, Oman...
, Luke Air Force Base
Luke Air Force Base
Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located seven miles west of the central business district of Glendale, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is also about west of Phoenix, Arizona....
, Arizona, in April 1988. The "Strike Eagle", as it was dubbed, received initial operational capability on 30 September 1989 at Seymour Johnson AFB
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located to the southeast of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for Navy test pilot Seymour Johnson, a native of Goldsboro...
in North Carolina with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing
4th Fighter Wing
The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit....
, 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
invaded Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
in August 1990. The 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were ordered to prepare for deployment one week after the invasion. The 336th began their flight to Seeb Air Base in Oman, a 15 hour flight. Though mission-ready, the F-15Es were not cleared to carry the needed munitions to counter a possible Iraqi attack on Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
; they were cleared to carry only the 500 lb (226.8 kg) Mark 82 bomb
Mark 82 bomb
The Mark 82 is an unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the U.S. Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is tritonal.-Development and deployment:...
and 2000 lb (907.2 kg) Mark 84 bomb
Mark 84 bomb
The Mark 84 is an American general-purpose bomb, it is also the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb to be dropped, second only to the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" then in service and presently third only to...
. During training operations in Oman, one F-15E (336th) was lost on 30 September in a mock dogfight, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and WSO. In December the two F-15E squadrons were moved closer to Iraq, and deployed to Al Kharj
Al Kharj
Al-Kharj is a city and governorate in central Saudi Arabia. The population of the governorate as a whole was 623,394 according to the 2004 census, 75,716 of whom were non-Saudis. The city is located at around ....
Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
On 17 January 1991, 24 F-15Es attacked five fixed Scud
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
installations in western Iraq and missions against Scud sites continued through the night with a second strike package consisting of 21 F-15Es. During the war, F-15Es flew hunter missions during the night over western Iraq, searching after mobile SCUD launchers that threatened neighboring countries. By conducting random bombings in suspected areas, F-15E crews hoped to deter the Iraqis from setting up for a Scud launch.
On the opening night of the war an F-15E tracked a MiG-29 and fired a AIM-9 Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
, which failed to hit its target. Several other F-15Es simultaneously tried to engage the lone MiG-29 but were unable to get the kill. One F-15E was actually flying past the Iraqi jet and maneuvered in for the kill but the pilot hesitated to take the shot because he was unsure of his wingmen's location and because he did not get a good tone with the Sidewinder missile. The MiG was eventually brought down by a missile of unknown origin. Another MiG-29 was shot down by his own wingman and an F-15E was close by to yet another MiG-29, but the pilot elected not to engage as there were US Navy F-14
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
s on the way to the area.
On the night of 18 January, during a strike against a petrol oil and lubricant plant near Basrah, an F-15E was lost to enemy fire and the pilot and WSO
Weapon systems officer
A Weapon Systems Officer is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the fighter in the United States Navy. A Weapon Systems Officer ("WSO", pronounced "wizzo") is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the...
were killed. F-15E crews described this mission as the most difficult and dangerous mission of the war as it was heavily defended by SA-3s, SA-6s, SA-8s and Roland
Roland (air defence)
The Roland is a Franco-German mobile short-range surface-to-air missile system. The Roland was also purchased by the U.S. Army as one of very few foreign SAM systems....
s as well as by anti-aircraft artillery. Two nights later, a second and final F-15E was downed by an Iraqi SA-2; the crew survived and managed to evade capture for several days and were even in contact with two coalition aircraft, but SAR crews were unable to rescue them due to security issues as one of the downed airmen did not properly identify himself on the radio with proper codes. The two airmen were later captured by the Iraqis.
Even though air-to-air kills had eluded the F-15Es, four Strike Eagles destroyed 18 Iraqi jets at Tallil air base using GBU-12s and CBU-87s. On 14 February, however, an F-15E scored its only air-to-air kill: a Mil Mi-24
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
helicopter. The attack was in response to a request for help by US Special Forces, when five Iraqi helicopters were spotted. The lead F-15E of a formation of two (from the 335th) acquired a helicopter unloading Iraqi soldiers through the FLIR pod and released a GBU-10. After 30 seconds, the F-15E crew thought the bomb had missed its target and the pilot was about to use a Sidewinder missile instead, but suddenly the Hind helicopter was vaporized. The Special Forces team estimated that the Hind was roughly 800 feet (243.8 m) over the ground when the 2000 lb (907.2 kg) bomb hit its target. But the air-to-air kill was not recognized until 2 November 2001. They tried to engage the other helicopters but an allied bombing started around the F-15E so the pilot decided to get out.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, bombing what were believed to be places where the Iraqi president was hiding, but without success. As the ground war was coming closer, F-15Es began tank plinking
Tank plinking
Tank plinking is a term that was given by pilots during the Gulf War to the practice of using guided munitions to destroy artillery, armored personnel carriers, tanks, and other targets...
, attacking Iraqi tanks and armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s in Kuwait.
Following 42 days of heavy combat for the F-15Es, a cease fire came into effect on 1 March 1991. Northern and Southern no-fly zones were quickly established over Iraq to prevent Iraqi aircraft from posing a threat to the Coalition. Despite this, Iraqi helicopters struck Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
refugees in northern Iraq. The F-15Es enforcing the no-fly zone watched helplessly as 600 civilians in the village of Chamchamal
Chamchamal
Chamchamal is a Kurdish city located to the east of Kirkuk and west of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan.The city's population of 200,000 is relatively young....
were attacked by helicopters. Since the F-15Es were not allowed to open fire, the aircraft made high speed passes as close as they dared in the hope that their wake turbulence would snap a rotor blade. They also fired their lasers into the cockpits of the Iraqi helicopters with intention of blinding the pilots. The latter technique was ineffective but the former did cause one Hind to crash. Soon USAF leadership became aware of these activities and ordered F-15Es not to fly below 10000 feet (3,048 m). F-15Es flew in support of Operation Provide Comfort
Operation Provide Comfort
Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations by the United States and some of its Gulf War allies, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War and deliver humanitarian aid to them.-Operation...
and Operation Provide Comfort II.
Operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch
494th Fighter Squadron
The 494th Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 494th FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...
deployed to Turkey in 1993, 1994 and 1997. The 492d Fighter Squadron
492d Fighter Squadron
The 492d Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 492d FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...
deployed in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 391st FS deployed later the same year. F-15Es would fly into combat over the next decade on numerous occasions. In January 1993, a small package hit Iraqi targets that broke the rule of the ceasefire agreement below the 32nd parallel north
32nd parallel north
The 32nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 32 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
, an SA-3 was targeted. A few days later, ten F-15Es took part in another punitive strike. Most of the time missions flown in support of OSW and ONW were defensive; as the Strike Eagles could carry a lot of weapons of various types into a mission, it gave the F-15 crews a lot of flexibility. The F-15Es operated under the close supervision of AWACS and crews could receive airborne taskings and could fly unplanned attacks against Iraqi targets.
During the next three years, violations of the no-fly zones were minimal as Iraq slightly withdrew its forces, and in 1997 Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
approved the creation of ONW and permitted US forces to use the Incirlik
Incirlik
İncirlik is a town in the Sarıçam district of Adana Province with a population of 11,555. Formerly a municipality, it was incorporated into Sarıçam Municipality in 2008...
air base. In December 1998, Operation Desert Fox
Operation Desert Fox
The December 1998 bombing of Iraq was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from December 16–19, 1998 by the United States and United Kingdom...
was conducted because Iraq refused UNSCOM inspections. On 28 December 1998, three F-15Es each dropped two GBU-12 500-pound precision-guided munitions (PGMs). Two of the F-15Es hit an SA-3 target site tracking radar and optical guidance unit. The other F-15E had one bomb hit the SA-3 missile site command and control van, and the other hit the target site tracking radar and optical guidance unit. The other F-15E in the four-ship formation did not drop any bombs because it lacked positive target identification.
After Desert Fox, Iraq stepped up its violations of the no-fly zones and a lot of retaliatory and pre-planned strikes were conducted by F-15Es. In ONW alone, weapons were expended on at least 105 days. Between 24 and 26 January 1999, F-15Es expended several AGM-130
AGM-130
The AGM-130 is a missile developed by the United States of America.-Overview:The AGM-130 is a powered air-to-surface missile designed for strikes at long range against various targets...
s and GBU-12s against SAM sites in northern Iraq near Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
. F-15Es were the most highly-tasked of all USAF tactical fighters in the region, particularly due to their extended range and payload compared to the F-16s. F-15Es usually attacked ammunition bunkers, command and control facilities, towed 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft batteries, and SA-3/6 launchers. F-15Es would also fly combat air patrols over Iraq and also co-operated with other aircraft in strikes, such as USN F-14s, F/A-18s, EA-6Bs, USAF F-16s and RAF Tornado GR4s.
Operations Deny Flight and Allied Force
Operation Deny Flight
Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation that began on April 12, 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina...
was a United Nations enforced no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
as the situation in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
had deteriorated over many years. In August 1993, after a UN Security Council resolution that banned all fixed and rotary wing aircraft unless authorized by the UN, F-15E’s from 492d and 494th FS deployed to Aviano
Aviano
Aviano is a town and comune of province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy.-History:...
in Italy. By late 1993, the situation had worsened and NATO ordered a limited F-15E strike against Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n targets in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, targeting the Udbina
Udbina
Udbina is a village and a municipality in the Lika region of Croatia. It is an administratively part of in the Lika-Senj county.-Geography:The village is located in the large karst field called Krbava...
airfield. Eight F-15Es armed with GBU-12s were to attack an SA-6 as part of a 30-aircraft strike package. The mission was cancelled in mid-flight as the F-15Es could not prosecute the attack due to stringent Rules of Engagement. In December the same year F-15Es were launched to destroy a pair of SA-2 sites which had opened fire on two Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Sea Harrier FRS 1s. Most missions flown by the Strike Eagles were non-combat sorties, but they were fired upon quite often. In August 1995, 90th Fighter Squadron
90th Fighter Squadron
The 90th Fighter Squadron is part of the 3d Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the F-22 Raptor aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-Mission:...
joined the two other F-15E squadrons. The 492d and 494th had flown over 2500 sorties since Deny Flight had begun, and 2000 of these were credited to 492d as they had been deployed longer than 494th. On 30 and 31 August in support of NATO's Operation Deliberate Force, strikes were carried out with GBU-10s and GBU-12s, F-15Es struck Serbian armor and supplies around Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. On 5 September more GBU-12s were dropped and four days later a GBU-15 were dropped for the first time from a Strike Eagle, and in the end nine were dropped against air defense targets and Bosnian-Serb ground forces around Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
.
Following the displacement of Kosovar
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
s and the government of Serbia rejecting a NATO ultimatum, Operation Allied Force
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
was launched in March 1999. 26 F-15Es from the 492d and 494th FS in-theater concentrated the first strikes of the war against Serb surface-to-air-missile sites, anti-aircraft batteries and Early Warning radar stations. These Strike Eagles were deployed to Aviano as well as Lakenheath in Great Britain, the only Strike Eagle units in the USAF to conduct Close Air Support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
missions, which was a new idea in the late 1990s but is now conducted by the entire air force (F-15Es, F-16s and A-10
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
s). Most missions would last around 7.5 hours and included two aerial refuellings and F-15Es would carry a mix of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions so they could fly both a Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
s and then drop bombs on targets before returning home.
The largest threats to NATO aircraft were the Serb's mobile SAM launchers. F-15E crews were very vigilant towards this threat as several aircraft had been lost in the past, most notably the F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down during the war. When the threat was too great, or specific weapon effects were required, the AGM-130
AGM-130
The AGM-130 is a missile developed by the United States of America.-Overview:The AGM-130 is a powered air-to-surface missile designed for strikes at long range against various targets...
was used to provide stand-off distance to the target. It was successfully used against two MiG-29s on the ground. The AGM-130 is a very expensive weapon and was only used against specific targets or when crews wanted to control their weapon in the flight to achieve maximum efficiency against targets. The WSO can steer the weapon to the target, or even abort and steer the weapon in to the ground far away from civilians if a target is too close to civilian areas such as churches. It was off-limits for NATO crews to attack targets around such buildings. It was an F-15E armed with an AGM-130 that struck a bridge
Grdelica train bombing
The Grdelica train bombing occurred on 12 April 1999 , when two missiles fired by NATO aircraft hit a passenger train while it was passing across a railway bridge over the Južna Morava river at Grdelica gorge, some south of Belgrade in Serbia...
just as a passenger train crossed, resulting in the loss of 14 civilian lives. In June 1999 Slobodan Milosevic ordered withdrawal from Kosovo.
Operation Enduring Freedom
391st Fighter Squadron
The 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting close air support missions.-Mission:...
left for Ahmed Al Jaber
Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base
Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base is a Kuwait Air Force installation with part designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies.Sitting 75 miles south of the Iraqi border, the base has supported active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 and F-16 fighter units, along...
air base in Kuwait 31 days later. The unit had been scheduled to participate in Operation Southern Watch, but now they were going to support Operation Enduring Freedom. During the first attacks the F-15Es met little resistance, and for the first night's military buildings, Taliban supply depots, caves and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
training camps were the main targets. Both the AGM-130 and GBU-15
GBU-15
Guided Bomb Unit 15 is an unpowered, glide weapon used to destroy high-value enemy targets. It was designed for use with F-15E Strike Eagle, F-111 'Aardvark' and F-4 Phantom II aircraft, but the United States Air Force is currently only deploying it from the F-15E. The GBU-15 has long-range...
2000 lb (907.2 kg) bombs were expended, and this was the first combat experience with the GBU-15. GBU-24s and GBU-28
GBU-28
The Guided Bomb Unit 28 is a 5,000 pound laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb nicknamed "Deep Throat" produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need during Operation Desert Storm to...
s were used against reinforced targets, command and control centrers and cave entrances. F-15Es would often operate as two-ship flights alongside two-ship F-16Cs. Within weeks almost all targets had been destroyed and it was hard to find meaningful targets. The Taliban had access to SA-7 and FIM-92 Stinger
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile , which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters , developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...
portable surface-to-air missiles which posed no threat towards US aircraft as long as they flew above 7000 feet (2,133.6 m), and the fixed SAM sites near such cities as Mazar-I-Sharif and Bagram were struck very early in the campaign, so it was a very "low-threat" environment.
Within three weeks, aircraft began to fly on-call support missions for allied ground forces where F-15Es usually carried MK-82 and GBU-12 bombs, but also other weapons were carried, and during one mission a GBU-28, two GBU-24s and six GBU-12s were released. The most frequent targets during the rest of the war were people, vehicles and convoys, and not only bombs were expended, on several occasions F-15Es used the internal gun as well. During the course of the three-month deployment in support of OEF, four 391st crews conducted the longest fighter mission in history; it lasted 15.5 hours and nine of those were spent over the target area. Two F-15Es attacked two Taliban command and control facilities, two buildings suspected to shelter Taliban fighters, and a Taliban road block. The F-15Es refueled 12 times during the mission. On 7 January 2002 the 391st FS returned home and 335th FS took over, the 391st FS had flown two to eight sorties a day during their deployment. The 391st would highlight their deployment by expending the BLU-118/B
Thermobaric weapon
A thermobaric weapon, which includes the type known as a "fuel-air bomb", is an explosive weapon that produces a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than those produced by condensed explosives. This is useful in military applications where its longer duration increases the numbers of...
for the first time in combat; it was used to flush out Taliban fighters hiding in caves.
Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
. The F-15Es first flew an on-call Close Air Support mission for "Texas 14" on the ground by destroying a Taliban observation position. 16 minutes later, at 0141 hours, "Mako 30" had come under mortar fire and the F-15Es rushed to the location. It was soon learned that the soldier in contact with the F-15Es was not a Forward Air Controller. It was later learned that the soldier was a Navy SEAL, and part of a team searching for an MH-47E Chinook following an ambushed insertion point in the Shah-i-Kot Valley
Shah-i-Kot Valley
The Shah-i-Kot Valley is a valley located in Afghanistan's Paktia province, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a mean altitude of...
. Nonetheless, the F-15Es dropped a GBU-12, but the SEAL team was still taking fire as they moved east with two wounded and one Killed In Action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
. A second bomb was dropped, but due to the wrong coordinates being entered into the Strike Eagle's computer the weapon missed. During the effort to support the SEAL Team a MH-47 carrying a rescue team was downed by an RPG.
During all this, the F-15Es had just finished refueling and were instructed to work with "Texas 14", a third team on the ridge. The F-15Es dropped eleven GBU-12s between 0252 and 0303 hours to aid the forces on the ground. Soon the F-15Es had to support the survivors from the downed MH-47 that had enemy contact some 75 meters from their position. The Strike Eagles could not use bombs, so they went with guns; they used the downed helicopters as a reference point and started to make gun passes. One Strike Eagle had to get back to the tanker, and the lone F-15E talked to AWACS to get some other aircraft to this location to strafe as well. A section of F-16s from 18th Fighter Squadron arrived and made some passes as well. It was soon decided that they had to drop bombs, as both the Strike Eagles and the Falcons had run out of ammunition. The F-15Es by now had been instructed by AWACS to return home, but they could support the forces and then return immediately after that. After some problems with radios and weapons that failed to drop, the F-15Es eventually each dropped a GBU-12 and requested to drop the remaining bombs, but were ordered to return to Al Jaber in Kuwait.
A friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
incident took place on 23 August 2007 when an F-15E, called in for close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
north west of Kajaki
Kajaki
Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station for electricity and irrigation projects, the Kajaki Dam...
, Afghanistan, mistakenly dropped a 500 lb (226.8 kg) bomb on British forces, killing three soldiers. Confusion between the air controller and the F-15E air crew on the bombing coordinates led to the incident.
On the 13 September 2009, an F-15E used an AIM-9 Sidewinder to shoot down an MQ-9 Reaper over Northern Afghanistan. Operators had, for some unknown reason, lost control of the Reaper, and a Strike Eagle was dispatched to ensure that the drone did not leave Afghanistan.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
4th Fighter Wing
The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit....
at Seymour Johnson AFB was ordered to have at least one squadron ready to deploy to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. The 336th was selected to deploy first, to Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base is a military base west of Doha, Qatar. It houses foreign coalition personnel and assets. It is host to a forward headquarters of United States Central Command, headquarters of United States Air Forces Central Command, and home to both No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group RAF and the...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. During 11–17 January 2003, 24 aircraft deployed to the air base and preparations began which involved a briefing by planners from the Combined Air Operations Center at Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base is an air base located at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple U.S. Air Force flying units, augmented by a...
in Saudi Arabia. The 336th was grounded for some time until 27 January when the governments of the United States and Qatar concluded their diplomatic problems and permissions to fly was finally given. The F-15Es began flying missions in support of Operation Southern Watch, mostly surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well simulated missions against potential targets in Iraq, and if needed they could attack them as well, as well as familiarize themselves with Rules of Engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
s, local area procedures, working with AWACS and flying over hostile territory. During OSW F-15Es attacked targets mostly in southern and western Iraq, radars, radio relay stations, communications, command and control sites, and air defences were targeted. On one night four F-15Es fired multiple GBU-24s at the Iraqi Republican Guard
Iraqi Republican Guard
The Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command with its expansion into two corps....
/Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
HQ in Basrah while another flight of four destroyed a nearby Air Defense Sector HQ with six GBU-10s.
Towards the end of February the 336th received additional aircrews and the units consisted of 150 pilots and WSOs, many of them were drafted from the two non-deployable fighter squadrons at Seymour Johnson (the 333d
333d Fighter Squadron
The 333d Fighter Squadron is part of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting advanced fighter training.-History:...
and 334th Fighter Squadrons
334th Fighter Squadron
The 334th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina....
) and 391st Fighter Squadron
391st Fighter Squadron
The 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting close air support missions.-Mission:...
at Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in southwestern Idaho, United States. The base is in Elmore County, 12 miles southwest of the city of Mountain Home, which is 40 miles southeast of Boise, via Interstate 84.The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972...
, this meant that there were four aircrews per F-15E. In early March the 335th Fighter Squadron's personnel and aircraft were deployed and joined the 336th at Al Udeid. One objective at the end of OSW was to take down Iraq's air defenses and Early Warning radar network near the border to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
so F-16s and Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
helicopters could operate from out of Jordan when the war started. Several radar sites and radio relay stations were hit in western Iraq near the "H3" airfield, during these missions coalition jets were greeted by heavy anti-aircraft artillery.
F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force . The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983...
s dropped bombs over Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
on 19 March, on a house where Saddam Hussein was believed to be; F-15Es dropped GBU-28s around the H3 airfield while other F-15Es conducted strikes part of OSW. On 20 March, when the war had effectively begun, F-15Es dropped AGM-130s against key communication, command and control buildings, and leadership targets in Baghdad; a few of the weapons missed intended targets, possibly having been affected by jamming operations from EA-6B Prowlers in the vicinity. Veteran-crewed F-15Es would work closely with Special Forces operating inside Iraq, such mission details are classified. F-15Es would typically circle around an area and the Special Forces directed them to attack ground targets. On more than one occasion, strafing runs using the aircraft's guns to hit threats towards the Special Forces teams were conducted, because the targets were too close for bombs to be used.
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System is an armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher; a type of rocket artillery.Since the first M270s were delivered to the U.S. Army in 1983, the MLRS has been adopted by several NATO countries. Some 1,300 M270 systems have been manufactured in the...
(MLRS) for an Iraqi surface-to-air missile site and dropped a 500 lb (226.8 kg) laser guided bomb, killing three and wounding five others. On 6 April 2003 an F-15E (88-1694), crewed by Captain Eric Das and Major William Watkins performed a critical interdiction mission in support of special forces. On the following day, Das and Watkins crashed while bombing targets around Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
. The crew were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
and the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for their actions.
During the war, F-15Es were credited with destroying 60% of the total force of the Iraqi Medina Republican Guard. They also scored hits on 65 MiGs on the ground, and destroyed key air defense and command buildings in Baghdad. During the war F-15Es worked closely with other jets that were deployed to Al Udeid, including RAAF F/A-18s
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
, USAF F-16s and F-117s, RAF Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
fighters and a detachment of US Navy F-14s from VF-154. Many aircraft used the F-15E to locate, identify and hand-off targets to them, including B-1B
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
s, B-52s, Navy/Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
F/A-18, AV-8Bs and F-14s.
Operation Odyssey Dawn
Following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, on the situation in Libya, is a measure that was adopted on 17 March 2011. The Security Council resolution was proposed by France, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom....
on 17 March 2011, 10 USAF F-15E fighters, and a variety of other NATO and allied aircraft were deployed to enforce the Libyan no-fly zone as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the US part of the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued afterwards under NATO command as Operation Unified Protector...
. On 21 March 2011, an F-15E Strike Eagle 91-304 crashed in Libya, near Bengazi. Both crew members parachuted into territory held by resistance elements of the Libyan population and were eventually rescued by US Marines. An equipment malfunction is the reason stated for the crash.
Israel
The F-15I is operated by the Israeli Defence Force/Air Force No 69 Squadron, which had previously operated the F-4 Phantom II. The first F-15I combat mission was flown in Lebanon on 11 January 1999. The aircraft can carry: the AIM-9L, Rafael Python 4 and the Rafael Python 5 infrared-homing missiles; and the AIM-7 SparrowAIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as various allied air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual...
and the AIM-120 AMRAAM
AIM-120 AMRAAM
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM , is a modern beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. Designed with the same form-factor as the previous generation of semi-active guided Sparrow missiles, it is a fire-and-forget...
radar-guided missiles. The Python 4 can be launched at up to 90 degrees off boresight, with the pilot aiming using the helmet-mounted sight. For BVR engagements, it can use either the AIM-7 or the AIM-120.
In 1999, Israel announced its intention to procure more fighter aircraft, and the F-15I was a possible contender. However, it was announced that the contract would go to the F-16I, a specialized version of the Fighting Falcon.
Israeli F-15Is carry the APG-70I radar with one third the resolution of the American system.
Saudi Arabia
Starting from the first week of November 2009, Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s, along with Saudi Tornados, performed air raids against Yemeni Houthis insurgentsSa'dah insurgency
The Shia Insurgency in Yemen, also known as the Houthi rebellion, Sa'dah War or Sa'dah conflict is a civil war in Northern Yemen. It began in June 2004 when dissident cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, head of the Shia Zaidiyyah sect, launched an uprising against the Yemeni government...
in the northern Yemeni region of Sa'dah
Sa'dah
Sa`dah is the capital city of Saada Governorate in north-western Yemen. It is located at , at an elevation of about 1,800 meters. Known in antiquity as Karna, its population in 2004 was estimated at 51,870.- External links :*...
. This was the first time since Operation Desert Storm in 1991 that the Saudi Air Force took part in a military operation over hostile territory.
Saudi Arabia requested 84 F-15SA aircraft, upgrade of its F-15S fleet to F-15SA standard, and related equipment and weapons through a Foreign Military Sale
Foreign Military Sales
The U.S. Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments...
in October 2010. The F-15SA (Saudi Advanced) variant includes the APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array
Active Electronically Scanned Array
An Active Electronically Scanned Array , also known as active phased array radar is a type of phased array radar whose transmitter and receiver functions are composed of numerous small solid-state transmit/receive modules . AESAs aim their "beam" by broadcasting radio energy that interfere...
(AESA) radar, digital electronic warfare systems (DEWS), infrared search and track (IRST) systems, and other advanced systems.
Variants
F-15E
Two-seat all-weather long-range strike and ground-attack aircraft for the USAF. A total of 236 were built from 1985 to 2001.F-15I
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
where it is known as the Ra'am (רעם – "Thunder"). It is a dual-seat ground attack aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229
Pratt & Whitney F100
-External links:* * *...
engines, and is based on the F-15E.
After the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991, in which Israeli towns were attacked by SCUD missiles based in Iraq, the Israeli government decided that it needed a long range strike aircraft and issued a Request for Information (RFI). In response, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
offered a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, while McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
offered both the F/A-18 Hornet
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
and the F-15E. On 27 January 1994, the Israeli government announced that the intention to purchase 21 modified F-15Es, designated F-15I. On 12 May 1994, the US Government authorized the purchase of up to 25 F-15Is by Israel. In November 1995, Israel ordered 4 extra F-15Is, thus 25 were built from 1996 to 1998.
The F-15I Ra'am is similar to the F-15E, however the F-15I has some avionic systems specifically to meet Israeli requirements. To facilitate night-time strikes, the F-15Is were initially fitted with Sharpshooter targeting pods designed for Israeli F-16s. The Sharpshooter pod was less capable than the LANTIRN
LANTIRN
Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, or LANTIRN, is a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the USAF's premier fighter aircraft — the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon...
pods used on USAF F-15Es, the United States later allowed Israel to buy LANTIRNs instead, 30 LANTIRN pods were eventually delivered. The F-15Is, as delivered, did not have any Radar Warning Receiver
Radar warning receiver
Radar warning receiver systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected. The warning can then be used, manually or automatically, to evade the detected threat...
s, thus Israel installed its own electronic warfare equipment, the Elisra SPS-2110. A central computer and embedded GPS/INS system have also been fitted. All of the aircraft's sensors can be slaved to the Display And Sight Helmet (DASH) helmet-mounted sight, giving both crew members an entire means of targeting which the F-15E lacks. The F-15I uses the APG-70 radar; using the radar's terrain mapping capability, it is possible to locate targets that are otherwise difficult to spot—e.g., missile batteries, tanks and structures—even in adverse conditions such as complete fog cover or heavy rain. The radar can detect large airliner-sized targets at 150 nautical miles, and fighter-sized targets at 56 nautical miles.
F-15K
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
) is an advanced derivative of the F-15E, operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force
Republic of Korea Air Force
The Republic of Korea Air Force is the air force of South Korea...
. Several major components for the aircraft were outsourced by Boeing to various Korean companies for local production as part of an offset agreement
Offset agreement
Defense offset agreements are legal trade practices in the aerospace and military industries. These commercial practices do not need state regulations but, since the purchasers are mostly military departments of sovereign nations comparable to the US Defense Department, many countries have offset...
, wherein Korea will be responsible for 40% of production and 25% of assembly and subassembly of the Slam Eagles. Fuselage and wings are supplied by Korea Aerospace Industries, flight control actuator by Hanwha Corporation
Hanwha
Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc. , the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial...
, electronic jammer
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
and radar warning receiver
Radar warning receiver
Radar warning receiver systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected. The warning can then be used, manually or automatically, to evade the detected threat...
by Samsung Thales
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Head-up display
Head-Up Display
A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...
, airborne communication system, and radar by LIG Nex1, and engines by Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin is a surveillance, aeronautics, optoelectronics, automations and defense company. It is a subsidiary of Samsung Group. The company employs 4720 employees and is headquartered in South Korea. Its totals sales in 2010 was 3,198 billion won....
under license before final assembly by Boeing at its St. Louis main facility.
In 2002, ROKAF selected the F-15K for its F-X fighter program, during which the Boeing F-15K, the Dassault Rafale
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
, the Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
and Sukhoi Su-35
Sukhoi Su-35
The Sukhoi Su-35 is a single-seat, twin-engined supermaneuverability multirole fighter. It is a derivative of the Su-27 'Flanker', and was initially known as the Su-27M. More than a dozen of these were built with some used by the Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration team...
were evaluated. A total 40 aircraft were ordered with deliveries beginning in 2005. On 25 April 2008, the Korean government announced the order of second batch of 21 F-15Ks, worth 2.3 trillion Korean won (US$ 2.3 billion). The delivery is scheduled between 2010 and 2012. Aircraft of second batch differs from the first batch in having Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 (EEP)
Pratt & Whitney F100
-External links:* * *...
engines for commonality with the KF-16 fleet; forty-six engines are being license-procuded by Samsung Techwin. Republic of Korea Air Force
Republic of Korea Air Force
The Republic of Korea Air Force is the air force of South Korea...
has received 50 F-15Ks by June 2011.
The F-15K variant has several features not typically found on F-15Es, such as an AAS-42 Infra-red search and track
Infra-red search and track
An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...
, a customized Tactical Electronics Warfare Suite to reduce weight and increase jamming effectiveness, cockpit compatibility with night vision device
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
, ARC-232 U/VHF radio with Fighter Data Link
Link 16
Link 16 is a military tactical data exchange network created and used by the United States and adopted by some of its Allies and by NATO. Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links....
system, and advanced APG-63(V)1
APG-63 and APG-70 radars
The AN/APG-63 and AN/APG-70 are a family of all-weather multimode radar systems designed by Hughes Aircraft for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. These X-band pulse-doppler radar systems are designed for both air-air and air-ground missions; they are able to look up at high-flying targets...
mechanical scanned array radar with NCTR capabilities. The APG-63(V)1 radar has a common digital processing back-end with the APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, and could be quickly upgraded to an AESA radar by replacing the mechanically scanning antenna with an AESA antenna. The F-15K is equipped with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. Weapons such as AGM-84K SLAM-ER ATA
Standoff Land Attack Missile
The Standoff Land Attack Missile or SLAM is a subsonic, over-the-horizon, all-weather standoff cruise missile which grew out of the United States Navy's Harpoon anti-ship missile in the 1970s.-Original SLAM:...
, AGM-84H Harpoon Block II, and JASSM have been integrated. Two General Electric F110-GE-129
General Electric F110
-External links:* - The F110 Engine Family* - F110-GE-100 Gallery* - F110* - General Electric F110...
29,400 lbf (131 kN) engines power the F-15K, delivering increased thrust over the base F-15E.
F-15S
The F-15S is a variant of the F-15E supplied to the Royal Saudi Air Force in the mid to late 1990s. Saudi Arabia had previously wanted the F-15F, a proposed single-seat Strike Eagle. Saudi Arabia sought to order 24 F-15Fs, but was blocked by U.S. Congress. The F-15S is almost identical to the USAF F-15E and the only major difference in the AN/APG-70 radar performance is the synthetic apertureSynthetic aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
mode. The version was initially referred to as F-15XP. 72 were built from 1996 to 1998. In October 2007, GE announced a contract with Saudi Arabia for 65 GE F110-GE-129C engines for the F-15S in a contract worth over US$300 million.
F-15SG
Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
(RSAF) after a seven-year evaluation period involving five other fighter aircraft under consideration. The F-15SG was chosen on 6 September 2005 over the Dassault Rafale
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
, the only remaining aircraft still in contention.
The F-15SG is similar in configuration to the F-15K sold to South Korea, but differs in the addition of the APG-63(V)3
APG-63 and APG-70 radars
The AN/APG-63 and AN/APG-70 are a family of all-weather multimode radar systems designed by Hughes Aircraft for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. These X-band pulse-doppler radar systems are designed for both air-air and air-ground missions; they are able to look up at high-flying targets...
active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar developed by Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
. The F-15SG will be powered by two General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
F110-GE-129
General Electric F110
-External links:* - The F110 Engine Family* - F110-GE-100 Gallery* - F110* - General Electric F110...
29400 lbf (130.8 kN) thrust engines.
Pending news on the progress of the F-35 program, the RSAF placed an order of 12 aircraft with an option for 8 more to replace its A-4SUs. The purchase is part of the New Fighter Replacement Program, worth about US$1 billion, which will be the most expensive single fighter aircraft purchase by the RSAF.
On 22 August 2005, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Defense Security Cooperation Agency
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency , as part of the United States Department of Defense , provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense matériel, training and services to allies, and promotes military-to-military contacts....
(DSCA) notified US Congress about a potential Foreign military sales
Foreign Military Sales
The U.S. Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments...
(FMS) of weapons, logistics and training in the event that the Boeing F-15 was selected by Singapore. Since the F-15 purchase has now been confirmed, it can be assumed that Singapore will follow up on this proposed weapons and logistics package, worth a further US$741 million if all options are exercised. Various weapons and hardware are included in this package such as AIM-120C, and AIM-9X missiles; GBU-38 JDAM, and AGM-154 JSOW air-to-surface weapons; Night Vision Goggles and Link 16
Link 16
Link 16 is a military tactical data exchange network created and used by the United States and adopted by some of its Allies and by NATO. Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links....
terminals.
The Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on 22 October 2007, exercised the option to purchase eight more F-15SG fighters which was part of the original contract signed in 2005. Along with this buy, an additional order of four F-15SGs increases total to 24 fighters on order. The first F-15SG was rolled out on 3 November 2008. Deliveries of F-15SGs began in second quarter of 2009 and will continue to 2012.
In July 2010, at least 12 have been delivered – 6 of which traveled to its home base in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, while the others are with the long-term training detachment at Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in southwestern Idaho, United States. The base is in Elmore County, 12 miles southwest of the city of Mountain Home, which is 40 miles southeast of Boise, via Interstate 84.The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972...
, Idaho.
Proposed variants
F-15H Strike Eagle (H for Hellas) was a 1990s proposed export version of F-15E for Greece, which was selected by the Greek Ministry of Defence and the Greek Air Force, but the government chose new F-16s and Mirage 2000-5s instead.F-15G Wild Weasel was a proposed two-seat version to replace the F-4G Wild Weasel
Wild Weasel
A Wild Weasel is an aircraft specially equipped with radar seeking missiles, and tasked with destroying the radars and SAM installations of enemy air defence systems....
in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role. The F-15G was studied in 1986. A proposed modification to F-15Cs for the SEAD role was studied in 1994–95, but F-16Cs were modified to perform this role instead.
F-15SE Silent Eagle
F-15SE Silent Eagle
The Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle is a proposed upgrade of the F-15E by Boeing using stealth features, such as internal weapons carriage and radar-absorbent material.-Design and development:...
is a further developed version of the F-15E by Boeing using fifth generation fighter features, such as internal weapons carriage and radar-absorbent material.
Operators
- Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
operates 25 F-15I "Ra'am" aircraft.- 69 Squadron – Hatzerim AFB
- Republic of Korea Air ForceRepublic of Korea Air ForceThe Republic of Korea Air Force is the air force of South Korea...
has received 40 (including 1 lost in accident) of total 61 F-15K "Slam Eagle" on order as of October 2008.- 11th Fighter Wing (제11전투비행단), based at DaeguDaegu AirportDaegu International Airport is primarily a domestic airport in the city of Daegu, South Korea. Asiana Airlines and Korean Air provide international flights to China and occasional charters to Fukuoka and Manila...
- 102nd Fighter Squadron
- 122nd Fighter Squadron
- 11th Fighter Wing (제11전투비행단), based at Daegu
- Royal Saudi Air ForceRoyal Saudi Air ForceThe Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability...
operates 72 F-15S and has requested another 72.- No. 3 Wing RSAF – King Abdullah Aziz Air Base
- No. 92 Squadron RSAF
- No. 5 Wing RSAF – King Khalid Air Base
- No. 6 Squadron RSAF
- No. 55 Squadron RSAF
- No. 3 Wing RSAF – King Abdullah Aziz Air Base
- Republic of Singapore Air ForceRepublic of Singapore Air ForceThe Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
(RSAF) has ordered 24 F-15SG and has 18 in inventory as of April 2010.- 149 Squadron "Fighting Shikra"149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air ForceThe 149 Squadron "Shikra" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base, the squadron goes by the motto "Steadfast" with the Shikra adopted as its mascot.-History:...
- 149 Squadron "Fighting Shikra"
- United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
had 223 F-15Es in operation as of November 2008. Active units are bolded.- Air Combat CommandAir Combat CommandAir Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
- 4th Fighter Wing4th Fighter WingThe 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit....
– Seymour Johnson AFBSeymour Johnson Air Force BaseSeymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located to the southeast of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for Navy test pilot Seymour Johnson, a native of Goldsboro...
, North Carolina- 333d Fighter Squadron333d Fighter SquadronThe 333d Fighter Squadron is part of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting advanced fighter training.-History:...
- 334th Fighter Squadron334th Fighter SquadronThe 334th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina....
- 335th Fighter Squadron335th Fighter SquadronThe 335th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina....
- 336th Fighter Squadron336th Fighter SquadronThe 336th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina....
- 333d Fighter Squadron
- 53d Wing53d WingThe 53d Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.-Mission:The 53d Wing serves as the focal point for the Combat Air Forces in electronic warfare, armament and avionics, chemical defense, reconnaissance, and aircrew training devices...
– Eglin AFB, Florida- 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron85th Test and Evaluation SquadronThe 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts testing and evaluation for the F-15C, F-15E, and F-16CG/CJ airframes.-Mission:...
- 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron422d Test and Evaluation SquadronThe 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada....
– Nellis AFB, Nevada
- 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron
- 57th Wing57th WingThe 57th Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.-Mission:The 57...
– Nellis AFB, Nevada- 17th Weapons Squadron17th Weapons SquadronThe 17th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada.The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service 17th Aero Squadron. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 Campaign Streamers in...
- 17th Weapons Squadron
- 366th Fighter Wing366th Fighter WingThe 366th Fighter Wing is a Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho...
– Mountain Home AFBMountain Home Air Force BaseMountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in southwestern Idaho, United States. The base is in Elmore County, 12 miles southwest of the city of Mountain Home, which is 40 miles southeast of Boise, via Interstate 84.The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972...
, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
- 389th Fighter Squadron389th Fighter SquadronThe 389th Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting close air support missions.-Mission:...
- 391st Fighter Squadron391st Fighter SquadronThe 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting close air support missions.-Mission:...
- 428th Fighter Squadron428th Fighter SquadronThe 428th Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Currently, it operates F-15SG Strike Eagle aircraft conducting formal training missions to qualify Republic of Singapore Air Force crew in the F-15SG under the auspices of Peace Carvin...
mixed USAF/RSAFRepublic of Singapore Air ForceThe Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
unit for training RSAF personnel on the new F-15SG (Peace Carvin V)
- 389th Fighter Squadron
- 379th Air Expeditionary Wing379th Air Expeditionary WingThe 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time....
- 455th Air Expeditionary Wing455th Air Expeditionary WingThe 455th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit. It is one of two AEWs in Afghanistan, presently assigned to Bagram Airfield. Most of the wing personnel are located at the Air Force Village known as Camp Cunningham.The wing's primary mission is to...
– Bagram AB, Afghanistan
- 4th Fighter Wing
- United States Air Forces in EuropeUnited States Air Forces in EuropeThe United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...
- 48th Fighter Wing48th Fighter WingThe 48th Fighter Wing is part of the United States Air Force Third Air Force, assigned to HQ Air Command Europe, and is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F-15 wing based in Europe...
– RAF LakenheathRAF LakenheathRAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...
, England- 492d Fighter Squadron492d Fighter SquadronThe 492d Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 492d FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...
- 494th Fighter Squadron494th Fighter SquadronThe 494th Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 494th FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...
- 492d Fighter Squadron
- 48th Fighter Wing
- Air Education and Training CommandAir Education and Training CommandAir Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....
- 405th Tactical Training Wing / 58th Fighter Wing / 56th Fighter Wing56th Fighter WingThe 56th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona where it also is the host unit....
– Luke AFB, Arizona- 461st Fighter Squadron – inactivated
- 550th Fighter Squadron – inactivated
- 555th Fighter Squadron555th Fighter SquadronThe 555th Fighter Squadron is part of the 31st Operations Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It operates F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting an air superiority mission.-Mission:...
– moved to Aviano AB, Italy & reequipped with F-16C
- 405th Tactical Training Wing / 58th Fighter Wing / 56th Fighter Wing
- Pacific Air Forces
- 3d Wing3d WingThe 3d Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska....
– Elmendorf AFB, Alaska- 90th Fighter Squadron90th Fighter SquadronThe 90th Fighter Squadron is part of the 3d Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the F-22 Raptor aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-Mission:...
– reequiped with F-22
- 90th Fighter Squadron
- 3d Wing
- Air Force Materiel CommandAir Force Materiel CommandAir Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....
- 46th Test Wing46th Test WingThe 46th Test Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing operates as tenant unit at Holloman AFB, NM.-Mission:...
– Eglin AFB- 40th Flight Test Squadron40th Flight Test SquadronThe 40th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 46th Operations Group, based at Eglin AFB, Florida.-Lineage:...
- 40th Flight Test Squadron
- 412th Test Wing412th Test WingThe 412th Test Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.-Overview:...
– Edwards AFB- 415th Flight Test Squadron415th Flight Test FlightThe 415th Flight Test Flight is a squadron of the United States Air Force Reserves. It has been stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, since 1 October 2001....
- 419th Flight Test Squadron419th Flight Test SquadronThe 419th Flight Test Squadron is part of the 412th Test Wing and is based at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It performs flight testing on B-1 Lancer, B-52 Stratofortress, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and EA-6B Prowler aircraft as well as Advanced Cruise Missiles.-History:Established as...
- 415th Flight Test Squadron
- 46th Test Wing
- Air Force Reserve CommandAir Force Reserve CommandThe Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
- 414th Fighter Group414th Fighter GroupThe 414th Fighter Group is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Air Force Reserve Command, being activated at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina 2010.-Overview:...
– Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina- 307th Fighter Squadron307th Fighter SquadronThe 307th Fighter Squadron is part of the 414th Fighter Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.-Mission:...
- 307th Fighter Squadron
- 414th Fighter Group
- Air Combat Command
Specifications (F-15E)