F-15E Strike Eagle

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Image:RAF F-15E Strike Eagle Iraq 2004.jpg The F-15E Strike Eagle is a modern American all-weather strike fighter, designed for long-range interdiction of enemy ground targets deep behind enemy lines. A derivative of the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, the Strike Eagle proved its worth in Desert Storm, carrying out deep strikes against high-value targets and providing close air support for Coalition troops. Visually, the Strike Eagle can be distinguished from the standard F-15 by the fighter's dark 'Gunship Gray' Paint, versus the "Air superiority gray" color scheme of the F-15C/D. All F-15E's have two seats.

1 History
2 Design
3 Variants
4 General characteristics
5 Specifications (F-15E Strike Eagle)
6 References
7 External links
8 Related content

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History

In March of 1981, the USAF announced the Enhanced Tactical Fighter program to procure a replacement for the F-111. The concept envisioned an aircraft capable of launching deep interdiction missions without requiring additional support in the form of fighter escort or jamming support. General Dynamics submitted the F-16XL, while McDonnell Douglas submitted a variant of the F-15. The F-15E's first flight was on December 11, 1986. The first production model of the F-15E was delivered to the 405th Tactical Training Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in April 1988. The "Strike Eagle", as it was dubbed, received initial operational capability in October 1989 at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. Variants of the F-15E are also operated by Israel (F-15I), Korea (F-15K), Saudi Arabia (F-15S) and Singapore (F-15SG)

The F-15E played an integral role in Operation Desert Storm, completing thousands of sorties and recording their bomb strikes on video along the way. Only 3 F-15E's have been lost in combat over Iraq (2 in Desert Storm and 1 in Iraqi Freedom).

While the F-15C/D is being replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E. As the Strike Eagles are more recent than the F-15 and rated for twice the lifetime, they will remain in service well into the middle of the 2020's, perhaps longer. The Air Force is currently investigating a "regional bomber" concept, and among the possibilities are a bomber derivative of the F-22 Raptor, essentially carrying on the Strike Eagle legacy.

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Design

The deep strike mission of the F-15E is a radical departure from that of the F-15, designed as an air superiority fighter under the mantra "not a pound for air-to-ground". However, the basic airframe proved versatile enough to produce a very capable strike fighter. While designed for ground attack, it retains much of 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. Despite its origins, the F-15E includes significant structural changes and much more powerful engines. The back seat is equipped for a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO pronounced Wizzo), or known to some as the "guy in back" (GIB), to work the new air-to-ground avionics. On four screens, the WSO can 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 (like the F-14 Tomcat and Navy's F-4 Phantom II), whose "backseater" lacked flying controls, the WSO of the F-15E cockpit is equipped with its own stick and throttle, and the F-15E WSO can take over flying if necessary.

To extend its range, the F-15E is fitted with two conformal fuel tanks (CFT's) that hug the fuselage, producing lower drag than conventional, underwing fuel tanks. They carry 750 U.S. gallons (2,800 L) of fuel, and house six weapons hardpoints in two rows of three in tandem. However, unlike conventional fuel tanks, CFT's cannot be jettisoned, so increased range comes at the cost of degraded performance with respect to the F-15 as a result of the additional drag and weight. Similar tanks can be mounted on F-15C's, but the range/performance tradeoff is typically not worth it for an air superiority fighter.

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.

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 low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night (LANTIRN) system 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 unequaled 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 image identical to what he would see during daytime.

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.

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 missiles or laser-guided bombs.

For air-to-ground missions, the F-15E can carry most weapons in the U.S. Air Force inventory. It also can be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders, AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-120 AMRAAMs for the air-to-air role. Like the F-15, the Strike Eagle also carries an internally mounted General Electric M61A 20mm cannon.

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Variants

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F-15I

The F-15I is an aircraft deployed 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 which Israeli towns were attacked by SCUD missiles based in Iraq, the Israeli government decided that it needed a long range strike aircraft. In 1993, Israel issued a Request for Information (RFI) asking any aircraft companies interested in producing the new Israeli fighter for their proposals.

In response, Lockheed Martin offered a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and McDonnell Douglas offered both the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-15E. On January 27, 1994, the Israeli government announced that they intended to purchase 21 F-15E’s. The F-15Es ordered were modified to Israeli requirements, and were renamed the F-15I.

On May 12, 1994 the US Government authorized the purchase of up to 25 F-15I’s by Israel. In November 1995 Israel purchased 4 more F-15I’s, bringing them to the US imposed limit.

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Differences between F-15E and F-15I

The F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) is very similar to the F-15E but the F-15I has some avionics systems specifically adapted to meet Israeli requirements. To facilitate night-time strikes, the F-15Is were initially fitted with the Sharpshooter targeting pods which were designed for Israeli F-16s The Sharpshooter pod is less capable than the LANTIRN pods used on the F-15E, so when the United States allowed Israel to buy LANTIRN pods they took the offer. This purchase completed the F-15I's night vision suite, with 30 LANTIRN pods eventually delivered. After these modifications the F-15I was almost identical to the F-15E. The only significant difference remaining between the F-15I and the F-15E is that the F-15Is were delivered without Radar Warning Receivers. Israel installed its own electronic warfare equipment in its F-15s. The F-15Is' missing electronics have been replaced by the Israeli Elisra SPS-2110 Integrated Electronic Warfare System. A central computer and embedded GPS/INS system have also been fitted. All of the aircraft's sensors can be slaved to a helmet-mounted sight, giving both crew members an efficient targeting mechanism that the F-15E does not possess. The Ra'am's advanced systems include an APG-70 radar with terrain mapping capability. The sharp picture that the APG-70 provides, regardless of weather conditions and light, makes it possible to locate targets that are otherwise very hard to find - i.e. missile batteries, tanks and structures - even under such adverse conditions as complete fog cover, heavy rain or moonless nights.

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Squadrons

The F-15I is operated by the famous IDF/AF No 69 Hammers Squadron, which had previously been operating the F-4 Phantom. The first F-15I combat mission was flown in Lebanon on January 11, 1999. The aircraft can carry: the AIM-9L,Rafael Python 4 and the Rafael Python 5 infrared homing missiles; and the AIM-7 Sparrow and the AIM-120 AMRAAM radar guided missiles. The Python 4 can be launched at up to 90 percent 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.

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F-15K

The F-15K Slam Eagle (Korean: F-15K 슬램이글) is an advanced derivative of the F-15E, ordered and being delivered to Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).

In 2002, ROKAF selected the F-15K for its F-X fighter program after the fierce competition of four fighters: the F-15K from Boeing, the Rafale from Dassault-Breguet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and Su-37 from Sukhoi. A total 40 aircraft were ordered, and as of December 2005, four were delivered to ROKAF.

F-15K has many advanced features not found on F-15E, such as an IRST (Infrared Search & Track), JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System), and advanced AN/APG-63(V)1 radar. AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) is also available as an option. In addition, the F-15K can launch many advanced weapons such as SLAM-ER.

Two F110-GE-129 29,400 lb_f (131 kN) thrust engines power the F-15K, representing an increase from that of the baseline F-15E.

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F-15S

The F-15S is a variant of the F-15E supplied to the Royal Saudi Air Force. It's almost identical to the USAF F-15E and the only major difference in the AN/APG-70 radar performance in the synthetic aperture mode: the resolution for F-15E is about three times better than that of the F-15S.

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F-15SG

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 only remaining aircraft still in contention, the Dassault Rafale.

The F-15SG is similar in configuration to the F-15K sold and being delivered to South Korea, but differs in the addition of the APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array radar developed by Raytheon. Pending news on Lockheed Martin’s F-35's progress, the RSAF has 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 and 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 dollars if all options are exercised.

Weapons in this package include:
200 AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM)
6 AMRAAM Captive Air Training (CAT) Missiles
50 MK-82 GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) w/BLU-111 warhead
44 AN/AVS-9(V) Night Vision Goggles
24 Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System/Low Volume Terminals (Fighter Data Link Terminals)
30 AGM-154A-1 (JSOW) Joint Standoff Weapons with BLU-11 warheads
30 AGM-154C (JSOW) Joint Standoff Weapons
200 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Missiles
24 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER CAT and Dummy Missiles