A Flock of F-15X Eagles
American Thinker,
by
Andrew E. Harrod
Original Article
Posted By: DVC,
4/20/2019 3:12:57 PM
The F-15 Eagle fighter, which first entered United States Air Force (USAF) service in 1976, will continue to be an essential element of America’s air superiority force into the 2040s. Accordingly, the Department of Defense needs to procure the F-15X, the latest version of this fourth-generation fighter that will remain a vital weapons system even in an era of stealthy fifth-generation fighters like the scarce F-22. The website Warzone has examined how a “quiet USAF inquiry” prompted the F-15X, not Boeing’s commercial interests (Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, has recused himself from F-15X decisions). Previously USAF
Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 4/20/2019 3:22:44 PM (No. 40220)
OP (contd)
The author misses that the F-35 has both Clark Kent (stealth) and Superman (non-stealth) modes available. Once the battlefield has been shorn of many of the most deadly SAM missile systems, by the stealthy aircraft which can engage them with some measure of safety, then the F-15s can come in - this is the idea. And not a bad one.
BUT, at that point, the F-35s can bolt on their already in stock external bomb and missile racks and load up external fuel tanks to extend their range, and more bombs and missiles to increase their punch. Yes, these external stores cost much of their stealth, which is why they are not there all the time.
If the F-15s can survive in the threat environment with zero stealth, then the still partially stealthy F-35s with external stores can live there, too, and only be seen on radar at a somewhat shorter radar detection range than the F-15s, in all likelihood, a benefit.
We need good ideas. A mix of aircraft types is a good idea. But we also need to be fair and knowledgable in our discussions of options. The author is either unaware of the F-35´s external stores mode (nothing new, it is a CURRENT capability, designed in) or unfairly ignoring it.
15 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
snowoutlaw 4/20/2019 4:44:39 PM (No. 40221)
It still beats every other countries´ fighter hands down.
14 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
DVC 4/20/2019 5:17:07 PM (No. 40227)
F-15 or F-35?#2.
If you mean F-15, you would be wrong if you look at the latest versions of the Russian Su-35 in any sort of a close in dogfight scenario. The Su-35 can sustain 10g turning, where the F-15 is more like 8 or 9g in turning, and the canards on the Su-35 apparently permit much higher angles of attack, critical in nose pointing for missile launch with most missiles.
Is an F-15 a dead duck? Certainly not, they are still a very capable aircraft. But "beats every other country´s fighters hands down", Uh, no. And then there is the Su-57, a stealth 5th gen fighter, said to be similar to our F-22. The totally non-stealthy F-15 might never get close enough to a Su-57 to even see, or track it on radar it before being engaged by the Russian pilot´s missiles. And the Su-57 will see the F-15 at 50 miles or more on radar.
Are the Russians invincible in the air? Not by a long shot. But is a 1970s US fighter still king of the hill? Not by a long shot, either.
And how many SU-35s and Su-57s do the Russian s have? Apparently very few, a good thing.
18 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 4/20/2019 5:48:00 PM (No. 40226)
The USAF Boeing 707 (AWACS) has a whole lot more flight hours on them than a fighter jet.
15 people like this.
Good info here, thank you for sharing!
18 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
DVC 4/20/2019 9:24:34 PM (No. 40222)
Oh, and the way I learned about the non-stealth mode for the F-35 with external bomb/missile racks was when a relative who is a F-35 pilot took me for a flight line tour and we discussed how the birds would fight, only in general terms, of course. Lots of details are still classified, and I hope there are some particularly good surprises there for the bad guys, too.
12 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Rivetjoint 4/20/2019 9:56:55 PM (No. 40223)
Number 4, the rather small fleet of RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft went into service in the early 1960´s and has been heavily used all over the world. Some of those birds are reaching 60,000 flight hours these days.
11 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2019 1:33:36 AM (No. 40225)
Uh, gee, I wonder what poster #7 used to do (or maybe still does)?
Those birds (RC-135) go unarmed right along the edges of harm´s way, and occasionally there have been reports of MiGs going to missile lock on them, but I am not aware of any that have actually been shot down. Gotta be pretty lonely out there.
11 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "DVC"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
A very interesting article, lots of good concepts.
BUT - one mistake that is consistently made is to forget that the F-35 has two distinct ´personalities´ which are available, depending on mission requirements.
When the mission requires low observables capability (stealth), the F-35 can be fully stealthy, and in that configuration, it has a certain range and a certain number of weapons that can be carried - BOTH limited to internal carriage by the mission requirement of low observables.
The F-15 has ZERO low observables capability, it can NEVER do it. It can only survive on a relatively benign aerial battlefield.