Country of origin |
United States |
Entered service |
? |
Crew |
2 men |
Dimensions and weight |
Length |
19.43 m |
Wing span |
13
m |
Height |
5.63
m |
Weight (empty) |
14.3 t |
Weight (maximum take off) |
36.7 t |
Engines and performance |
Engines |
2 x Pratt & Whitney F100-229 turbofans |
Traction (dry / with afterburning) |
2 x ? / 129 kN |
Maximum speed |
over 2 650 km/h |
Service ceiling |
18.2 km |
Ferry range |
3 900 km |
Combat radius |
1 480 km |
Armament |
Cannon |
1 x 20 mm
M61 Vulcan six-barrel cannon
(510 rounds) |
Missiles |
AGM-65
Maverick, AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles, AGM-130 air-to-surface missiles,
up to four AIM-7M Sparrow and four AIM-9 Sidewinder,
AIM-120 AMRAAM
air-to-air missiles |
Bombs |
Mk.82, Mk.83, Mk.84 bombs, GBU-10/12/15/24/28 precision guided munitions, CBU-series
cluster bombs |
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The Boeing
F-15E Eagle has been in the service of the US Air Force since
1989. This aircraft has recommended itself well. However it becomes
older and may need upgrades in the near future. Boeing began
development of the new, upgraded and stealthy version in 2009. This
aircraft was developed as a private venture. The official name of
the advanced version is F-15SE Silent Eagle. So far there is only
one unit, developed by Boeing, which made its maiden flight in 2010.
Now this aircraft serves as a demonstrator. The cost of producing a
single Silent Eagle is about $100 million. It is much more
compared with the cost of building the standard F-15E Eagle.
However, the new version seems to be far better.
It seems
that the F-15SE Silent Eagle is more advanced and capable than
Eurofighter Typhoon,
Dassault Rafale, or Russian
Su-35.
Once in service the Silent Eagle could be one of the world's most
capable multi-role fighter. It can be also seen as an alternative to
the
Lockheed Martin F-35, which development has been plagued with
delays and setbacks and cost overruns.
However the future of Boeing F-15 Silent
Eagle remains unclear. The US Air Force will probably want to
upgrade the F-15E at some point, but only in the next decade. There are some
possible customers from across the world. Israel seems to be most
interested in purchasing the Silent Eagle. They even made an offer,
but it was declined. Some sources report that Japan, South Korea and
Saudi Arabia are also interested in obtaining this aircraft and the
only factor that’s stopping them is high unit price.
The F-15
Silent Eagle has many new features. One of the most important is
that it has radar-absorbent coating. The aircraft has internal weapons
bay, with four internal hardpoints. As a result the Silent Eagle has
reduced radar-cross section and is
more stealthier that its predecessor. Its stealth abilities were
proven by the test flights.
Weapon load
is basically the same as on the F-15 Eagle. Its internal weapon bay
with 4 hardpoints. Weapons can be also carried externally. The
Silent Eagle can carry various air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles,
precision guided munitions and bombs.
The Silent
Eagle uses the same type of engines as the F-15E. IT is powered by
two Pratt & Whitney F100-229 afterburning turbofans that produce 129
kN of force. Performances of these two
types of aircraft are pretty much the same, but a big difference can
be seen in the avionics. The Silent Eagle is fitted with APG-82 AESA
radar, digital electronic warfare system, infra-red search and track
system, Lockheed
Martin Sniper targeting system, and other advanced electronic
systems.
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