F-15X Super Eagle

Description: The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter aircraft designed to outperform and outfight enemy aircraft obtaining air supremacy for the US Air Force. It replaced the F-4 Phantom II in the US Air Force inventory. During the Balkan conflict the F-15s downed four Serbian MiG-29 Fulcrum and 33 out of the 35 fixed-wing aircraft downed during the Gulf War. The success key of the F-15 Eagle is combination of maneuverability, weaponry, advanced avionics and a pulse-Doppler radar system. The pulse-Doppler radar permits to engage multiple low and high flying targets at long range. The F-15's internal countermeasures system provides both threat warning and automatic delivery of countermeasures against selected threats. The F-15A/B aircraft entered service with the US Air Force in 1975. McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, has produced more than 2,000 aircraft to date for the US Air Force and several customers worldwide.

The F-15 Eagle air defense fighter aircraft is armed with an internal 20mm Gatling gun, four medium range AIM-7 Sparrow or AIM-120A/B/C AMRAAM missiles and up to four short range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. The key sensor provided to the Eagle is the APG-63 pulse Doppler radar which allows to engage the most elusive airborne targets flying at low altitudes. The A, B, C and D models of this aircraft were designed to fly exclusively air defense missions with none or near irrelevant attack capabilities.

The F-15X Super Eagle is a further variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle to be operated by a single pilot and intended as complement for fifth generation stealth fighters. The F-15X Super Eagle sensor suite includes active electronically scanning array (AESA) radar, Sniper XR targeting pod and an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor to engage airborne targets. The aircraft does not feature stealth technology but can be loaded with up to 22 air-to-air missiles. Besides, a hybrid configuration combines eight air-to-air missiles with 28 small diameter bombs proving the great potential of the new Eagle variant. The enhanced airframe would be able to reach 20,000 flight hours. The new F-15X aircraft was offered to the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in August 2018 as the replacement for the F-15C/D jet and potentially the F-15E Strike Eagle.

All in, the F-15X is being considered as a primary asset to conduct air defense patrols with a massive firepower and attack missions in environments that do not require stealth capabilities thus complementing the fifth generation aircraft such as the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. Besides, the F-15X could engage airborne threats with its massive firepower and long-range air-to-air missiles in contested environments in cooperation with a stealth aircraft that would provide target information.