F-15E Strike Eagle

Overview:

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a 1980s American all-weather strike fighter, designed for long-range interdiction of enemy ground targets deep behind enemy lines. The Strike Eagle, a derivative of the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, proved its worth in Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force, carrying out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrols, and providing close air support for coalition troops. The F-15E Strike Eagle can be distinguished from other U.S. Eagle variants by its darker camouflage and the conformal fuel tanks mounted along the engine intakes. The F-15E's deep strike mission is a radical departure from the original intent of the F-15, since the F-15 was designed as an air superiority fighter under the mantra "not a pound for air-to-ground." The basic airframe, however, proved versatile enough to produce a very capable strike fighter. The F-15E, while designed for ground attack, retains 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. The F-15E, despite its origins, includes significant structural changes and much more powerful engines. The back seat is equipped for a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO pronounced 'wizzo') to work the new air-to-ground avionics. The WSO uses multiple screens to 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 (e.g. the F-4 Phantom II and Navy's F-14 Tomcat), whose back seat lacked flying controls, the back seat of the F-15E cockpit is equipped with its own stick and throttle so the WSO can take over flying, albeit with reduced visibility. To extend its range, the F-15E is fitted with two conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) that hug the fuselage, producing lower drag than conventional underwing/underbelly fuel tanks. They carry 750 U.S. gallons (2,800 liters) of fuel, and house six weapons hardpoints in two rows of three in tandem. However, unlike conventional fuel tanks, CFTs cannot be jettisoned, so increased range comes at the cost of degraded performance as a result of the additional drag and weight versus a totally "clean" configuration. Similar tanks can be mounted on the F-15C/D and export variants, and the Israeli Air Force does exercise this option on their fighter-variant F-15s as well as their F-15I variant of the Strike Eagle, but the F-15E is the only U.S. variant to be routinely fitted with CFTs. 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. This system includes an externally mounted ALQ-131 ECM pod which is carried on the centerline pylon on an as needed basis. 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, mounted externally under the engine intakes, 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 exceptional 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 infared image of ground contour. 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. Additionally, the pod contains a forward looking infrared system which is projected on the pilot's HUD which is used during nighttime or low visibility operations. The AN/AAQ-13 Nav Pod is installed beneath the right engine intake. 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. The targeting pod is mounted beneath the left engine intake; configurations may be either the AN/AAQ-14 Target Pod, AN/AAQ-28 LITENING Target Pod or the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Pod. 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 self-defense (though the Strike Eagle retains the counter-air capabilities from its Eagle lineage, it is rarely if ever used for counter-air missions). Like the F-15C, the Strike Eagle also carries an internally mounted General Electric M61A1 20 mm cannon which is effective against enemy aircraft and "soft" ground targets.

Specifications:

Role

• Strike fighter.

First Flight

• 11 December 1986

Introduced

• April 1988

Status

• Active.

Primary Users

• United States Air Force.
• Royal Saudi Air Force.
• Israeli Air Force.
• Republic of Korea Air Force.

Number Built

• 334+

Unit Cost

• F-15E: US$31.1 million (1998).
• F-15K: US$100 million (2006).

Crew

• 2 pilots.

Length

• 63.8 ft (19.43 m).

Height

• 18.5 ft (5.63 m).

Airfoil

• NACA 64A006.6 root.
• NACA 64A203 tip.

Empty Weight

• 31,700 lb (14,300 kg).

Max Takeoff Weight

• 81,000 lb (36,700 kg).

Powerplant

• 2× Pratt & Whitney F100-229 afterburning turbofans.
• 29,000 lbf (129 kN) each.

Weapons

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 510 rounds of either M-56 or PGU-28 ammunition.

Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:

• + 4× AIM-9M Sidewinder or 2× AIM-120 AMRAAM.
• + 4× AIM-7M Sparrow or additional 4× AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Air-to-surface missiles:

• + 6× AGM-65 Maverick.
• + AGM-130
• + AGM-84 Harpoon.
• + AGM-84K SLAM-ER.
• + AGM-154 JSOW.
• + AGM-158 JASSM.

Bombs:

• B61 nuclear bomb.
• Mark 82 bomb.
• Mark 84 bomb.
• CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition.
• CBU-89 Gator.
• CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon.
• CBU-103 CEM.
• CBU-104 Gator.
• CBU-105 SFW.
• CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon.
• GBU-10 Paveway II.
• GBU-12 Paveway II.
• GBU-15
• GBU-24 Paveway III.
• GBU-27 Paveway III.
• GBU-28
• GBU-31 JDAM.
• GBU-38 JDAM.
• GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb.
• GBU-54 Laser JDAM.

Others:

• SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod.
• AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod.
• LANTIRN, Lockheed Martin Sniper XR & LITENING targeting pods.
• up to 3× 600 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time.