Israel’s Defense Ministry will officially request by letter to the United States 25 F-15EX fighters, which are capable of incorporating hypersonic and laser weapons, although the Israeli Air Force is already expected to double the order. Does The first step for this acquisition is to submit an official request by Letter of Request (LoR), which would have been sent at the beginning of the month. This LOR is necessary to start the process of selling military material to a foreign country and if approved, the details of the units and costs are already being negotiated.
As the Eurasian Times reports, Israel has delayed an official decision on purchasing an upgraded version of the F-15. In 2020, a decision was made to acquire fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets and additional F-15s, but the documents required for the latter were never signed.
Now that the document has been submitted, the first deliveries of the F-15EX are expected in 2028, although the Israeli government may ask Washington to shorten that deadline. Even then, The Israeli Air Force (IAF), in addition to the above 25 F-15EXs, also intends to upgrade its 25 F-15Is to the above configuration, except with the fly-by-wire system. Now, The IAF has 50 F-15s in service in various models A/B/C/D and 25 F-15 I.
For a long time, the country’s military leaders have expressed There is an urgent need to induct more F-15s that can incorporate Israeli-developed weapons, especially to destroy hardened targets such as Iranian nuclear silos.
In fact, when the IAF decided to buy more F-15s and F-35s, they already had these combat scenarios in mind and assumed that such targets would be protected by advanced air defense systems. Will be done. In his concept of a perceived attack of these characteristics, First the first wave of F-35 fighters will intervene to destroy the air defense systems, and then the F-15s armed with a heavy load of highly advanced weapons will come into action.
In this regard, recent reports point to a possible sale of Russian S-400 air defense systems to Iran, which plans to deploy them to protect its nuclear sites.
F-15, an extraordinary aircraft with half a century of life
In 2022, the F-15 celebrates half a century of life since July 27, 1972. The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) device, with its chief test pilot, Irving L. With Burroughs at the controls, the test made its first flight over the skies of California (United States) at Edwards Air Force Base. An uneventful flight of over 50 minutes and 3,500 metres, with only a minor problem with the landing gear doors.
“This plane worked well from the first minute, We knew we had a winner from the startBurroughs said after the flight. He didn’t know that his flight was predicting what the future of fighter jets would look like. fifty years later, He remains undefeated and holds an unmatched record of 104 kills.
Their story began a few years ago. On December 23, 1969, after more than two years of intensive testing and evaluation, the Air Force awarded the F-15 Advanced Tactical Fighter contract to McDonnell Douglas. Out of the three competing in all the stages, the team managed to get the first place lowest contract price.
Its high strength, light weight, and large wing area combined make the eagle more agile, Also great acceleration and maneuverability made it the first American fighter whose engine exceeded the basic weight, which allowed it to accelerate during a vertical climb. A revolutionary leap that propelled him to achieve great relevance.
First prototype YF-15A, painted USAF “Air Superiority Blue” and with orange flight test markings, still had square wingtips and a notched stabilizer, The Air Force was fully satisfied with the moving characteristics, and several more flights took place over the next week.
was achieving their first milestones Mach 1.5 speed and over 13,500 meters of altitude, Known as the “Streak Eagle”, it was used to break several records, including eight climb time records held by the Soviet MiG-25. He was able to reach 30,000 meters in only three minutes.
A total of twelve pre-production units were built, including two two-seat aircraft initially designated the TF-15 and later the F-15B., The new twin-engined fighter was approved by the USAF for full production just six months after its first flight test.
The first flight of the F-15B (formerly TF-15A) two-seat trainer took place in July 1973. The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. The first Eagle was delivered to the squadron in January 1976. Of battle And beginning in 1979, the single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force’s inventory. A new version first flew in 1986, the F-15E Strike Eagle, which became the basis for the development of new variants.
On June 27, 1979, an Israeli F-15 became the first aircraft to shoot down an enemy aircraft, setting an unmatched record of 104 kills and zero losses against enemy aircraft. A powerful, capable aircraft with a great survival instinct. A clear example, on May 1, 1983, when the F-15D suffered a catastrophic mid-air collision with an A-4 Skyhawk, causing the Eagle’s right wing to be severed 60 cm from the root. After losing the wing, the aircraft descended at twice its normal speed to make up for the lack of lift.
In 2019, it was decided to allocate funds for at least the first eight out of 144 F-15EX, as it would be a more practical solution than waiting for enough F-35s to become available to replace the F-15C, On March 11, 2021, the most advanced version of the F-15 ever, the F-15EX Eagle II.
Powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 afterburning turbofan engines providing 23,500 pounds of thrust (with afterburners), the F-15 was so powerful that it could exceed the speed of sound in vertical climb .
The fighter jet has a maximum speed of Mach 2.5, with the longest attack range of 2,222 km. In addition, the F-15 could carry three 600-pound external fuel tanks that extended its range to nearly 3,000 miles without the need for aerial refueling.
Equipped with the advanced nose-mounted AN/APG-63 radar, the F-15 can also detect low-flying enemy aircraft up to 200 miles away.
