F-15 Eagle family

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F-15 Eagle

Aircraft Role:	Air Superiority/Multirole
Manufacturer:	McDonnell Douglas Boeing IDS
Real-World Origin:	United States of America
AC Installments:	Ace Combat (Air Combat) Ace Combat 2 Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Primary Operator:	Osea (OADF)
Secondary Operators:	Aurelia (AAF) Belka (BAF) Erusea (FEAF) Emmeria (REAF) Estovakia (EAF) GRDF FCU (ISAF) (Air Force and Naval Air Force) Leasath (LAF) Usean Rebel Force Ustio (UAF) Yuktobania (YAF)
Plane Variants:	F-15C Eagle F-15E Strike Eagle F-15S/MTD F-15S/MT Eagle+

The F-15 Eagle family has three main versions: the F-15 Eagle, the F-15E Strike Eagle, and the F-15S/MTD.

[edit] F-15 Eagle

Main Article: F-15C Eagle

The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat.

The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of unprecedented maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight almost any current enemy aircraft. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. The Eagle can be armed with AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles or AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles on its lower fuselage corners, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder or AIM-120 missiles on two pylons under the wings, and an internal 20mm Gatling gun in the right wing root. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat.

The F-15's superior maneuverability, rate-of-climb and acceleration are achieved through high engine thrust-to-weight ratio and low wing loading. Low wing-loading (the ratio of aircraft weight to its wing area) is a vital factor in maneuverability and, combined with the high thrust-to-weight ratio, enables the aircraft to turn tightly without losing airspeed. As a result, the F-15 is one of the deadliest (and best) fighters ever built.

As of today, the F-15 kill ratio stands at 108 air-to-air victories and no air-to-air losses. The Eagle is used by America, Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. It is currently being succeeded by the F-22A Raptor, though the U.S. Air Force will keep at least 178 combat-ready Eagles through 2025.

[edit] F-15E Strike Eagle

Main Article: F-15E Strike Eagle

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a fighter-bomber aircraft designed to replace the F-111F Aardvark as Medium Bomber. The plans for a ground attack Eagle was formed ever since testing began of the original F-15A. However, it was abandoned in 1975, primarily due to increasing costs. It was revived in 1982 when trials began with a F-15B. The production model first flew December 11, 1986, after it's only competition, the F-16XL was canceled. The F-15's cockpit is state-of-the-art and the pilot has a wide angle Heads-Up Display as well as 3 Multi-Function Displays and the Weapons Systems Operator has 4 MFD's. The only advantage between the Strike Eagle (which was also known as the Beagle and the Mud Hen)and the Aardvark it replaced, is that it acquired air-to-ground capability, while retaining the F-15C's outstanding air-to-air capability. The disadvantage, which was criticized in it's early life, was the fact that the F-15E didn't have the internal range (2,994 miles in the F-111 to 2,100 miles in the F-15E) nor the weapons payload capability (31,302 lbs to 24,471 lbs) as the Aardvark. However, despite these shortcomings, the F-15E is one of the most powerful aircraft in the U.S. arsenal, as proved in the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and the Balkans. Strike Eagles are used in other countries, including Israel (F-15I Ra'am), South Korea (F-15K Slam Eagle), Saudi Arabia (F-15S) and Singapore (F-15SG or F-15T).

[edit] F-15S/MTD

Main Article: F-15S/MTD

The F-15S/MTD (STOL/Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator) is an experimental technology demonstrator employed by NASA and built off of an F-15B airframe, initially used to test advancements in super-maneuverability and short take off and landing technologies. Initially funded as a military experiment, the F-15S/MTD was eventually aquisitioned by NASA and modified with multi-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles and ACTIVE (Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles) technologies, meant to improve aircraft control and survivability in combat. The aircraft was easily capable of pulling Pugachev's Cobra maneuver, and in its S/MTD form, was equipped with thrust reversers, able to slow the aircraft down in a fraction of the time compared to conventionally equipped fighters. It managed a rotation speed of just 42 mph, and could land on a runway only a fraction the size of that required by the F-15C. By 1991 the project had ended in its S/MTD form and was deemed a success, and the technologies pioneered in the program would eventually be adapted to serve with the joint U.S./German X-31 program, and ultimately the F-22 Raptor program and its offshoot contemporaries.

The F-15S/MT (sometimes omitting the "D"), in its numerous Ace Combat incarnations, has only just recently received a consistent design. In Ace Combat 2, a unique variant christened only "F-15S" (not to be confused with the real-life F-15S, which is the Saudi version of the F-15E Strike Eagle), looking to incorporate low-observable structures (Raptor-style engine nozzles, rounded off forward fuselage, modified wing and tail section) and a single-seat cockpit was used. Ace Combat 3's variant, the "F-15S/MT Eagle+" incorporated a single-seat COFFIN, redesigned canards, and traditional rounded nozzles, omitting the aircraft's signature thrust vector control. In Ace Combat 04, a single-seat variant of the S/MTD was used, known only as the F-15 ACTIVE (despite not incorporating the design features of the actual ACTIVE variant) but otherwise stayed faithful to the S/MTD's design. Following Ace Combat 04, each successor game has depicted the S/MTD with its traditional dual seat.

[edit] F-15S/MT Eagle+

Main Article: F-15S/MT Eagle+

An upgraded variant is produced and operated by General Resource LTD and designated the F-15S/MT Eagle+. While this variant does not have thrust vectoring technology, it does have increased maneuverability thanks to it's new reinforced airframe, more powerful engines, COFFIN system and canards. These modifications give the 'old' F-15 Eagle the ability to keep up with the next generation of Aircraft in 2045. Despite its age, the Eagle is still on of the most respected and capable aircraft flying during 2045.

The weight is the same as a fully loaded F-15E Strike Eagle (Max take off weight). This is presumably because the F-15S/MT Eagle+ was used for long range/long loiter time patrol missions thus the need for a large fuel load. Also this airframe can take the role of an attack aircraft thanks to its excellent loadout capabilities and the ability of the airframe to sustain more damage as compared to the F-16 series. Engines were supposedly upgraded to provide the 1382km/h advantage over the standard Strike Eagle to help in interception and long range penetration duties.

Two Top GRDF Aces, Abyssal Dision and Keith Bryan flew F-15S/MT+ in 2045 and saw great success.

[edit] F-15SE

The F-15SE is a new development of the highly popular and successful F-15C. With stealth capabilities extrapolated to be similar to export variants of the F-35, it is a formidable addition to the Eagle Family. It does away with the CFT's of the F-15E, replacing them with similarly-shaped internal weapons bays to increase its stealth properties. The F-15SE's entire tail section has been redesigned, with outrward-canted tailfins, much like the F/A-18. The new Eagle is reportedly made of new radar-absorbent composite materials, and the rear section of the F-15SE has been fitted with highly classified new electronic countermeasure equipment sets.

Galm 1

Garuda 1

Galm 2

[edit] Variants

F-15A
F-15B-two-seat combat capable trainer
F-15C-upgraded F-15A
F-15D-upgraded F-15B
F-15E Strike Eagle-tactical strike version of F-15B
F-15F Strike Eagle-proposed single-seat F-15E
F-15I Ra'am-Israeli F-15E
F-15J-japanese-built F-15C (DJ=Japan-F-15D)
F-15K Slam Eagle-South Korean built F-15E
F-15N Sea Eagle-naval F-15
F-15SG-Singaporean built F-15E
F-15S/MTD-modified F-15B
F-15S/MT Eagle+ - fictional upgraded F-15S/MTD built by General Resources Limited