One of my all-time favorites. In the right environment it can still deliver some shock and awe....
One of my all-time favorites. In the right environment it can still deliver some shock and awe. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/04/14/Boeing-completes-first-flight-of-F-15QA-for-Qatar/8601586906090/ Quite a long production run for the both the Eagle and Falcon.
The F-15EX the AF is buying is based on the Saudi and Qatari F-15s, with some US only upgrades, naturally. Should keep St Louis going for quite a while.
Here's an argument that we made at Grumman years ago. It's a little too late now..... https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-why-the-f-14-tomcat-rather-than-the-f-15-eagle-would-have-been-the-most-effective-interceptor-for-usaf/
The F-15 guys called the early F-14s with TF30s Turkeys because they were easy to beat in a dogfight. The Phoenix fire control system, though, gave them an advantage in BVR in the pre-AMRAAM/AIM-120 days. The F-14Bs and Ds were a different story, but there were not very many of them. The F-14 seemed to have political enemies, like the F-111, so production and remanufacturing of advanced versions were severely curtailed.
USAF would not spend the coin for any airplane, to replace the Six. At it’s height ADC had almost one hundred squadrons. ADC was on the decline from the mid to late 50’s. It was a shell of itself, by the early 1960’s. The F-14 and F-15 were too expensive for a command on it’s last legs. ADC become ADTAC in the early 80’s and later became even less important, as the 1st A.F. USAF and the Guard stood up a handful of exclusive F-15 Fighter Interceptor Squadrons. The less than handful Guard F-15 Air Defense units soon became regular fighter squadrons.
I remember very well the F-15 appearance, and how I was reading about it in the aviation magazines until it entered service; I was 15 in 1975, and that was 45 years ago. Considering a kid of 15 today been told that a brand new F-15 is a 50 year old design; that would have been me in 1975 looking at a brand new Boeing P-12 entering service as a front line aircraft. That would have been rather odd...the pace of change has indeed slowed down, at least as far shape and performance are taken into account (not electronics, avionics, etc...of course). Rgds
World Wars really speed up development, but luckily we have missed out on WW-III so far. Except for low observables, aluminum framed aircraft reached their peak on speed and human g capability quite a while ago.
As do Cold Wars. The number of new designs during the 50's and 60's was amazing. Of course at the time we were still at the beginning of the learning curve with respect to jet era aero, structures, and propulsion.
You just jogged a memory. The 48th FIS at Langley was selected to be the first ADC squadron to receive the F-15 (replacing their F-106). The 1st TFW, also at Langley, would carry the Alert commitment for three months during the transition. I'm happy to say that I was selected to work "First Tac Alert" for the entire three months (24 on and 48 off). Almost daily scrambles = an adrenaline rush every time.
Wade- Especially with live missiles and hot gun. I sat Victor Alert for years, and thankfully never had to take off. We got scrambled to our aircraft frequently, but it was never accompanied by a take-off. Zulu was more fun.
Victor Alert. I recall stories about those from the F-4 guys when I was at MacDill. We did occasionally have to do a "quick load" of the big bomb, but for training only. But yes, live loads for Zulu while at CNA as well. I posted a Bitburg scramble video in the other thread. Wow, did that ever take me back.
Wade- I flew with the Bitburg guys during a USAFE ORI. Got four sorties in the F-15D. That was a lot of fun.
Some time travel here! Perspectives from both the Ops and Maintenance side. "The story was recorded in Bitburg Germany with one of our frontline F-15 units. In its time, it was seen as very experimental. Being with the real folks. Exploring their relationships with others. Yes, it has a Cold War ring to it. But it was made in 1981, the height of the Cold War. The people we filmed were wonderfully cooperative once they trusted us."
Not sure if this is the right thing to do (selling to Qatar). "The F-15QA has taken flight for the first time. This fighter is the most advanced version of the undefeated F-15 and was built for the Qatar Emiri Air Force." First flight of the F-15QA was Apr 14, 2020. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33014/watch-boeings-f-15qa-for-qatar-make-a-spectacular-viking-takeoff-on-its-first-flight
Selling anything in the Middle East, except to Israel, is a crap shoot. You just hope you do not have to come up against their better equipment you sold them. Both sides had Mirage F1s in Desert Storm, so we made sure none from our side were in a position to be misidentified. Those type of take-offs are not as impressive as the ones where you just continue to rotate immediately after lift off and disappear on pure power.
Ain’t that the truth...until the F-22 started blowing minds, the coolest thing I ever saw in a takeoff was the T-Birds taking off in 4-ship fingertip, getting airborne, immediately gear up, 4 drops into the slot, all in burner, and the diamond just keeps pitching up and over the top of a loop...just breath-taking...and I flew those damn planes at the time...it still dropped my jaw. Most folks never even noticed that and I’m not sure they even do it anymore...too boring?
