AMT KIT #30077 1/72 SCALE F-15C REVIEW & BUILD
F-15 Eagle History:
The F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat.
In 1967 the Soviet Union revealed their MiG-25 'Foxbat' interceptor. The MiG-25 was a dedicated high-speed, high-altitude interceptor aircraft. In order to excel in this role, the aircraft made many performance tradeoffs. Its very high speed, over Mach 2.8, required the use of stainless steel instead of aluminum in many locations on the aircraft. This added weigh, and this in turn demanded a larger planform so the aircraft could operate at the high altitudes it needed. This Soviet aircraft, with its very high speed and a large wing offering high maneuverability, lead US planners at the time to re-think some of their planning (Notably the F-X program) because they feared that the US was being outclassed.
So, in early 1968 a new propsal was developed for the US Air Force to develop its own dedicated air superiority aircraft. By August 1968 the new proposal was ready. The new requirements would be a single-seat fighter with a maximum take-off weight of 40,000 pounds with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a thrust to weight ratio of 1:1 at mission weight. The new aircraft would also be a twin-engine fighter because it was believed twin engines would respond to throttle changes more rapidly. The details of the avionics were left largely undefined and up to the manufacturer.
Four companies submitted proposals. The US Air Force eliminated General Dynamics early on and awarded developmental contracts to Fairchild, Rockwell, and McDonnell Douglas for the definition phase of the project in December 1968. By June 1969, all three companies had submitted technical proposals. In December 1969, the US Air Force announced that McDonnell Douglas had been selected to produce the aircraft.
Their winning design resembled the Grumman F-14, but with fixed wings.
The initial version of the F-15 included a single-seat aircraft called the F-15, and a two-seat trainer version called the F-15T. Later, the designation was changed to F-15A for the fighter, and F-15B for the trainer. They would be powered by new Pratt & Whitney F100 engines to achieve a thrust-to-weight ratio in excess of 1:1, a M61 Vulcan gun, a conformal carriage for up to four Sparrow missiles, and pylons on the wings for another four sidewinder missiles. The wing was set high on a flat, wide fuselage which itself acted as an additional lifting surface.
The first F-15A flight took place in July 1972 with the first flight of the F-15B in July 1973. The aircraft was introduce dinto US Air Force service in 1974.
The aircraft had a "look-down/shoot-down" radar that could identify low-flying moving targets from the ground clutter. The F-15 used computer technology with new controls and displays to lower pilot workload which allowed a single pilot to effectively operate the aircraft The F-15 also had only a single canopy frame with clear vision forward. When it was introduced at that first flight, the US Air Force announced that the F-15 Eagle would be "the first dedicated USAF air superiority fighter since the North American F-86 Sabre."
The design and its innovations proved so successful, that numerous allies desired the aircraft. As a result, Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia purchased and use the aircraft in the interceptor role.
The aircraft has been steadily improved. The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered production in 1978 and conducted their first flights in February and June of 1978. These aircraft benefited from the Production Eagle Package 2000, which included 2,000 lb of additional internal fuel, provisions for conformal fuel tanks, and an increased maximum takeoff weight of 68,000 lb. The increased takeoff weight allows internal fuel, a full weapons load, conformal fuel tanks, and three external fuel tanks to be carried. The new APG-63 radar had the first programmable signal processor (PSP) in the world on an aircraft enabling the radar to be programmable for new armaments and equipment. Other improvements for the F-15C/D included strengthened landing gear, a new digital computer, and an overload warning system, which allows the pilot to fly up to 9 g at all weights.
Beginning in 2007, 178 F-15Cs were retrofitted with the AN/APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. A large number of F-15s were also equipped with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). An IRST system was developed for the F-15C. Finally, the Eagle passive/active warning survivability system (EPAWSS) upgrade will include sophisticated jamming, integrated digital RWR/ geo-location and electro-optical/ IR threat detection and decoy capabilities.
Having started service with earlier version of the Sidewinder infra-red guided, short range missile, and the Sparrow medium range radar guided missile, currently the F-15 carriers the latest, all-aspect AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles, and the latest AIM-120C AMRAAM radar guided fire and forget missiles with ranges of over 100 miles.
These continuous upgrades have allowed the F-15 Eagle to remain very competitive in todays world of 2015, 43 years after the initial F-15A took flight. Over 250 F-15C/D aircraft are currently operated by the US Air Force.
This is not to mention the development of the two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle multi-role aircraft that began development in 1979 with its first flight in 1986, and was introduced into US service in 1989. This is a completely new aircraft based on the F-15. It retains all of the F-15s capabilities in terms of air dominance, but has added a stronger air frame with conformal fuel tanks to allow for a heavy air to ground munitions load as well, with precision guidance. These aircraft have also been upgraded and have significant capabilities that are extending their use. The US Air Force operates over 210 F-15E Strike Eagles. They are also operated, in various individual configurations for the differed nations by Israel, Saudi Arabia, The Republic of Korea, Singapore and others.
F-15 Eagle Service:
The F-15A entered service in 1974. It has been deployed around the world and involved with literally hundreds and hundreds of exercises, including combat operations.
As a result of its significant combat experience, it has amassed the best modern combat kill ration with upwards of one hundred (or more) combat air-to-air kills and no air-to-air losses.
The first kill by an F-15 was achieved by an Israeli F-15 flown by Israeli ace, Moshe Melnik in 1979. In Israeli conflicts between 1979–82, F-15As downed:
36 x MiG-21 "Fishbeds"
17 x Mig-23 "Floggers"
02 x MiG-25 "Foxbats"
01 x SA.342L Gazelle helicopter
The US used F-15s in the first Gulf War and ever since. in fighting over and around Iraq, the US achieved the following:
01 x Su-7 "Fitter"
02 x Mig-21 "Fishbeds"
04 x Su-22 "Fitters"
08 x MiG-23 "Floggers
02 x MiG-25 "Foxbats"
02 x Su-25 "Frogfoots"
05 x MiG-29 "Fulcrums"
06 x Mirage F1s
01 x Il-76 cargo plane
01 x Pilatus PC-9 trainer
02 x Mi-8 helicopters
Saudi Arabia has also scored kills with their F-15 air dominance aircraft in combat:
02 x F-42 "Phantoms"
02 x Mirage F1s
The F-15 was also used in successful test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile. In September 1985, an F-15A flown by Maj. Wilbert D. "Doug" Pearson, launched an ASM-135 ASAT missile some 200 miles west of Vandenberg Air Force Base. The missile successfully destroyed the US Solwind P78-1 satellite flying at an altitude of 345 miles. The F-15 climbed to 38,000 feet at Mach 1.22 in a 3.8g zoom climb at an angle of 65 degrees and released the ASAT missile. The ASM-135 ASAT released its kill vehicle above the atmosphere which intercepted the 2,000 lb (907 kg) Solwind P78-1 satellite at closing velocity of 15,000 mph, completely destroying it.
The F-15 has now been joined with another air-dominance fighter, the 5th generation F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft. It was designed as a pure air dominance aircraft, though it has recently also been modified to proved precision ground support service as well.
The F-22 has replaced the F-15 as the pre-imminent air superiority aircraft for the US Air Force with over 180 aircraft deployed.
Despite the new, very capable F-22 fighter, the F-15C/D aircraft are expected to continue service until the introduction of the US Air Forces 6th generation air superiority aircraft in the 2030s.
