The US Air Force marked 30 years of the F-15E in December. The Strike Eagle continues to be a niche type that looks set for many more years of service.
THE FIRST PRODUCTION-STANDARD F-15E Strike Eagle (serial 86-0183/ E001) made its maiden flight on December 11, 1986, from McDonnell Douglas’ St Louis, Missouri, plant. Thirty years on, the Strike Eagle has earned itself a unique position in the US Air Force inventory. It is one of the most proficient multi-role, air-to-air and air-to ground strike fighters in the world, and is set to remain so well into the future.
While the USAF has never procured more than the 236 F-15Es it originally received, foreign customers continue to emerge for today’s so-called Advanced F-15 — now part of the Boeing stable and essentially a ‘Strike Eagle on steroids’. Meanwhile, the USAF has been forced to rely on a steady stream of upgrades, the latest of which is an extensive Radar Modernization Program (RMP).
The F-15E essentially replaced portions of the USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and General Dynamics F-111 fleets in the medium strike role at a time when air-to-ground was a relatively low priority for senior USAF leaders.
Under Brig Gen Ronald W. Yates, the Dual…
