Combat aircraft

The old days of the F-15 trying to hang in

there are gone. We are foot-to-the-fl oor

and seeing a lot of interest

Steve Parker, vice-president of F-15 programs

structure and the main computer. This is

being completed hand-in-hand with new-

production examples, which are broadly

based on the two-seat Strike Eagle.

Silent Eagle to Advanced F-15

The F-15SA for Saudi Arabia was the  rst of

the Advanced F-15s, built with new digital

 y-by-wire controls and new weapons

stations. According to Parker, the F-15SA

has demonstrated impressive high-alpha

maneuverability. ‘Our pilots can’t get the

F-15SA to depart [from controlled  ight]

— it’s very robust,’ he says.

Having secured successes in South Korea

with the F-15K and in Singapore with the

F-15SG, Boeing looked to attract new

business with the F-15SE Silent Eagle. This

aimed to o er new stealthy measures via

conformal weapons bays and canted  ns.

In fact, the Silent Eagle concept o ered

a menu of enhancements, the stealthy

options being aimed squarely at a follow-

on South Korean requirement. When the

Republic of Korea Air Force opted for the

F-35, Boeing realized that there was little

appetite for the Silent Eagle’s stealthy

modi cations, but other o erings from

that menu drove the Advanced F-15.

‘We moved away from that speci c

capability,’ Parker says of the F-15SE.

‘There are other aircraft that can do

that [mission], and ours are di erent,’

he adds, referring to new electronic

warfare enhancements to the Eagle

and its ability to carry a large payload.

Boeing now pitches the Eagle as a

complementary platform to the stealthy

 fth-generation  ghters.

‘We have a common con guration for

the Advanced F-15’, Parker continues. ‘I can

load 20-plus SDBs [Small Diameter Bombs]

or JDAMs [Joint Direct Attack Munitions]

and still have an air-to-air capability.

Having a mixed load is a big deal for our

customers. We’ve invested heavily in

research and development and it’s about

getting the right capabilities for our

customers while ensuring we take cost out

of the airframe. So we’re looking at missile

rails and additional lethality, advanced

electronic warfare with jammers, a passive

infra-red search and track [IRST], and the

largest-aperture AESA radar in the market.

It’s about payload, range and speed.’

The Advanced F-15’s payload is indeed

at the center of its capabilities. Adding

 y-by-wire has enabled the opening-

up of stations 1 and 9, the new outer

wing hardpoints. Boeing’s Amber Rack

is featured on the  y-by-wire F-15. This

means the Saudi and Qatari jets can  y

with a standard 12 air-to-air missiles.

Adding the Amber Rack to the conformal

fuel tanks (CFTs) allows for the carriage

of up to 22 missiles, or a mix of air-to-

ground stores.

Boeing is also developing structural

upgrades for the new Qatari aircraft that

will have read-across for prospective

USAF service life extension programs.

‘We are redesigning the nose barrel

on the F-15QA for more space and

Above right: The

F-15C pioneered

the linkage of

the US Joint

Helmet-Mounted

Cueing System

to the AIM-9X

Sidewinder for

off-boresight

engagements.

Rich Cooper

Below left: The

F-15QA is the

fi rst Eagle to

feature large-area

displays. Boeing

Below: The

classic F-15C

is likely to

benefi t from

the structural

enhancements

that are being

developed for the

Qatari F-15QA.

Rich Cooper

FEATURE ARTICLE // F-15 EAGLE

42 May 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

40-51 Eagles of the world C.indd 42 21/03/2018 10:44