F-15 Eagle Thread
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There are several similarities between Col Fontenot's accident and that of the F-22 pilot, Capt Haney lost in Alaska, sudden and possibly disorienting/disabling mechanical issue, hi altitude, and very high speed, as well as a very high rate of decent, may well have been exceeding mach 2 at impact, no way to eject at that speed. I make the speed assumption from the eye witness who thought he heard a boom like exceeding mach 1, he reported hearing two big booms and then the huge explosion, etc also deep impact crater, just very sad, and probably NO time to make an egress from the aircraft???
Beautiful video Forbin, and why the USAF boys "break" those poor old birds like the C in Missouri with a little weakness, these guys "push it" as they say on top gun every day. Unlike lots of others who "tool around" in their birds the US and UK and our Nato allies stick it to their birds everyday, they train like they intend to fight, very tough aircraft and people, anyone who counts out the F-15E and their pilots as simple ground pounders better watch out, in fact many Eagle pilots prefer that airplane to the Raptor.
The Eagle is a pilots airplane, unlike something like the old Foxbat, which is decidedly not a sweet airplane if pushed to the limits as the Eagle is being pushed here. These guys are not some aerobatic team, they are the real deal, USAF fighter pilots, doing a "days work"...
Bernard
Junior Member
Mar 10, 2015 Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
USAF
is expected to announce the winner of a multibillion-dollar program to modernize the ’s electronic self defenses in May.
The $7.6 billion Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (Epawss) is part of a larger effort to finally upgrade the F-15 fleet as it is expected to remain in service to 2040, longer than planned due to the slow introduction of into the fleet and fewer-than-expected being procured for the air superiority mission. For more than a decade, Air Force leaders vowed to spend as little as possible upgrading legacy fourth-generation fighters in hopes of a swift shift to an all-stealth, fifth-generation fleet. Poor program management and high cost, however, has forced the service to rethink its plans.
The service will upgrade up to 413 F-15Cs and F-15Es with the Epawss system, according to Air Combat Command (ACC) officials. Air Force acquisition officials say the life-cycle cost of the upgrade is $7.6 billion, a hearty sum given the service’s earlier plans to stifle resources for legacy fighters.
Epawss is needed to replace the aging Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS), which is based on 1970s technology. ACC officials say repair costs for TEWS have spiked 259% in the last decade, underscoring the need for a new system.
With Boeing, the F-15 manufacturer, as prime contractor and integrator, the Epawss system is expected to include a new digital internal radar warning receiver, upgraded chaff-and-flare dispenser and a new fiber-optic towed decoy. The new system will also address "capability gaps as threats evolve," ACC officials say. "The threat environment is becoming congested and contested [and] F-15s need a modern EW system to remain viable in the future operational environment."
The emergence of Digital Radio Frequency Memory technologies also has frustrated allied EW technology, driving a need for upgrades. Using DRFM, an adversary can swiftly replicate signals, allowing for fast and accurate jamming in the air battle.
Though ACC officials say TEWS "lacks performance to counter current/future threats," Epawss introduction into service is beyond the future years defense plan, or beyond 2020. Installs for developmental testing aircraft are slated for fiscal 2017, the Air Force acquisition officials say.
The service is also procuring a long-wave infrared search and track (IRST) for the F-15C aircraft, which are primarily dedicated to air superiority missions. This IRST will provide beyond-visual range identification for enemy formations, allowing for operators to distinguish the number and possibly type of aircraft in formation at extended range.
Air Force officials did not provide a cost estimate for the IRST upgrade .
All because they didn't make enough F-22's.
The F-15D that crashed Oct 8, 2014 at RAF Lakenheath was on an air to air maneuvering training flight?? As the pilot initiated a very hard pull on the stick, the aircraft exceed the critical angle of attack and departed,, as the aircraft departed an ill fitting radome with a large gap at the forward fuselage caused the aircraft to yaw and spin at low altitude, the pilot ejected when the aircraft decended through 6,000 ft, he stated and I quote, "I'm outta here"...The large gap between the radome and forward fuselage was filled with sealant with a 3/16 protrusion which disrupted clean airflow and contributed to the aircrafts departure and subsequent spin.
When members here state that an aircraft is unstable in order to maneuver swiftly, they are in fact referring to the fact that the aircraft has been designed with "relaxed stability", in other words it is "slightly less stable" in order to attain maneuverability or "agility". The F-15 is a very stable aircraft, that on the D model does not have fly by wire, I believe later Eagles such as the F-15K do have fly by wire?? My point is that even a very user friendly aircraft such as an F-15 or F-22, very sweet airplanes, may exhibit very bad behavior if pushed beyond their flight envelope, particularly if they have an "airflow anomaly". We lost an Eagle in a Red Flag due to the same sudden departure with external tanks with fuel and the fuel load was uneven, causing an insipient spin, from which the pilot was unable to recover?
Confirmed by SIPRI Singapore AF have 40 F-15SG
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