![]() Several aircraft manufacturers submitted proposals and, in 1969, the contract was awarded to McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) which began work on what it would eventually christen the F-15 Eagle. In response, the US Air Force realised it needed an all-round fighter that was fast and manoeuvrable, with a powerful radar, an arsenal of air-to-air missiles, and a gun that could be used close-range during dogfights. In Southeast Asia, American pilots found they were being out-manoeuvred by the enemy’s smaller, more nimble fighters such as the Russian-built MiG-21s. The idea for the F-15 was originally forged in the heat and chaos of the Vietnam War. Remarkably, it was repaired, and went on to serve again. Somehow the pilot, Zivi Nedivi, managed to regain control and land the injured plane safely. ![]() In 1983, during training, an Israeli F-15 collided in mid-air with another combat plane, shearing off its right wing so that just a 60-cm stub remained. Of course, like any combat aircraft, plenty have perished in accidents, but when it comes to dogfights, the F-15 has an unblemished record of over 100 victories to zero defeats.Īnd it has phenomenally robust aerodynmaics. In the near half-century that F-15s have been criss-crossing the skies above the world’s various theatres of war, not a single aircraft has been lost in air-to-air battle. According to Boeing, “future plans call for as many as 144 aircraft”.īoth the F-15QA and the F-15EX come under the model name of Advanced F-15, the latest and most advanced version of the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. Following this, Boeing will then start work on a domestic variant of the plane called the F-15EX, destined for the US Air Force. It’s part of a US$6.2 billion contract between Boeing and the US Department of Defense to supply 36 of these multi-role strike fighters to the Qataris, starting next year. The F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) is destined for sale to the Qatar Emiri Air Force. After that he was in the air for 90 minutes, testing the avionics and radar, and showing off various manoeuvres, during which he “pulled nine Gs, or nine times the force of Earth’s gravity”, according to Boeing. ![]() Louis Lambert International Airport, in Missouri, Boeing’s chief test pilot Matt Giese executed the first Viking takeoff on the new F-15QA fighter, the latest incarnation of the infamous combat aircraft. Just a few seconds after leaving the runway, they activate the afterburner, pivot the aircraft so it points almost vertically upwards, and then launch skywards like a rocket. Boeing says it "will be a major player until 2040".į-15 fighter pilots call it a “Viking departure”. Meet the latest and most advanced incarnation of the infamous F-15 fighter aircraft. ![]()
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