McDONNELL DOUGLAS F-15C/D EAGLE

Israel Defence Force name: Baz (Falcon)

TYPE:

Twin-turbofan air superiority fighter with secondary attack role.

PROGRAMME:

First flight of YF-15 27 July 1972; first F-15C (78-468) 26 February 1979; first F-15D 19 June 1979; P&W F100-PW-220 standard since 1985; last of 894 F-15A/B/C/Ds delivered 3 November 1989; production restarted during 1991 to produce five for Israel and 12 for Saudi Arabia; production now concentrated on F-15E.

DESIGN FEATURES:

NACA 64A aerofoil section with conical camber on leading-edge; sweepback 38 degrees 42' at quarter-chord; thickness/chord ratio 6.6 per cent at root, 3 per cent at tip; anhedral 1 degree; incidence 0 degrees. Twin fins positioned to receive vortex off wing and maintain directional stability at high angles of attack. Straight two-dimensional external compression engine air inlet each side of fuselage. Air inlet controllers by Hamilton Standard. Air inlet actuators by National Water Lift.

STRUCTURE:

Wing based on torque box with integrally machine skins and ribs of light alloy and titanium; aluminium honeycomb wingtips, flaps and ailerons; airbrake panel of titanium, aluminium honeycomb and graphite/epoxy composites skin.

LANDING GEAR:

Hydraulically retractable tricycle type, with single wheel on each unit. All units retract forward. Cleveland nose and main units, each incorporating an oleo-pneumatic shock absorber. Nosewheel and tyre by Goodyear, size 22 x 6.6-10, pressure 17.93 bars (260 lb/sq in). Mainwheels by Bendix, with Goodyear tyres size 34.5 x 9.75-18, pressure 23.44 bars (340 lb/sq in). Bendix carbon heat-sink brakes. Hydro-Aire wheel braking skid control system.

POWER PLANT:

Two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 turbofans, each rated at 105.7 kN (23,770 lb st) with afterburning for take-off. Internal fuel in eight Goodyear fuselage tanks, total capacity 7836 litres (2070 US gallons; 1724 Imp gallons). Simmonds fuel gauge system. Optional conformal fuel tanks attached to side of engine air intakes, beneath wing, each containing 2839 litres (750 US gallons; 624 Imp gallons). Provision for up to three additional 2309 litre (610 US gallon; 508 Imp gallon) external fuel tanks. Max total internal and external fuel capacity 20,441 litres (5400 US gallons; 4496 Imp gallons).

ACCOMMODATION:

Pilot only, on McDonnell Douglas ACES II ejection seat. Stretched acrylic canopy and windscreen. Windscreen anti-icing valve by Dynasciences Corporation.

AVIONICS:

General Electric automatic analogue flight control system standard. Hughes Aircraft AN/APG-63 X-band pulse Doppler radar (upgraded to AN/APG-70 under MSIP), equipped since 1980 with a Hughes Aircraft programmable signal processor, provides long-range detection and tracking of small high-speed targets operating at all altitudes to treetop level, and feeds accurate tracking information to the IBM CP-1075 96K (24K on early F-15C/Ds) central computer to ensure effective launch of the aircraft's missiles or the firing of its internal gun. For close-in dogfights, the radar acquires the target automatically and the steering/weapon system information is displayed on a McDonnell Douglas Electronics AN/AVQ-20 head-up display. A Teledyne Electronics AN/APX-101 IFF transponder informs ground stations and other suitably equipped aircraft that the F-15 is friendly. It also supplies data on the F-15's range, azimuth, altitude and identification to air traffic controllers. A Hazeltine AN/APX-76 IFF interrogator informs the pilot if an aircraft seen visually or on radar is friendly. A Litton reply evaluator for the IFF system operates with the AN/APX-76. A Honeywell vertical situation display set, using a cathode ray tube to present radar, electro-optical identification and attitude director indicator formats to the pilot, permits inputs received from the aircraft's sensors and the central computer to be visible to the pilot under any light conditions.

ARMAMENT:

Provision for carriage and launch of a variety of air-to-air weapons over short and medium ranges, including four AIM-9L/M Sidewinders, four AIM-7F/M Sparrows or eight AIM-120 AMRAAM, and a 20 mm M61A1 six-barrel gun with 940 rounds of ammunition. General Electric lead-computing gyro. A Dynamic Controls Corporation armament control system keeps the pilot informed of weapons status and provides for their management. Three air-to-surface weapon stations (five if configured with conformal fuel tanks) allow for the carriage of up to 10,705 kg (23,600 lb) of bombs, rockets or additional ECM equipment. AN/AWG-20 armament control system.

DIMENSIONS EXTERNAL:

Wingspan: 13.05 m (42 ft 9 3/4 in)

Wing aspect ratio: 3.01

Length overall: 19.43 m (63 ft 9 in)

Height overall: 5.63 m (18 ft 5 1/2 in)

Tailplane span: 8.61 m (28 ft 3 in)

WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS:

Weight empty, equipped (no fuel, ammunition, pylons or external stores): 12,973kg (28,600 lb)

Max fuel load: internal: 6103 kg (13,455 lb)

CFTs (two total): 4422.5 kg (9750 lb)

Auxiliary tanks (three total): 5395.5 kg (11,895 lb)

Max internal and external: 15,921 kg (35,100 lb)

Max T-O weight with CFTs: 30,845 kg (68,000 lb)

Max wing loading: 546.1 kg/m/2 (111.8 lb/sq ft)

Max power loading: 147.87 kg/kN (1.45 lb/lb st)

PERFORMANCE:

Max level speed: more than Mach 2.5 800 knots (1482 km/h; 921 mph) CAS

Approach speed: 125 knots (232 km/h; 144 mph) CAS

Service ceiling: 18,300 m (60,000 ft)

Ferry range: with external tanks, without CFTs: more than 2500 nm (4631 km; 2878 miles) with CFTs: 3100 nm (5745 km; 3570 miles)

Max endurance: with in-flight refuelling: 15 h unrefuelled, with CFTs: 5 h 15 min

Design g limits: +9/-3

LENGTH (m): 19.43

HEIGHT (m): 5.63

WINGSPAN (m): 13.05

MAX T-O WEIGHT (kg): 30,845

MAX WING LOAD (kg/m/2): 546.10

MAX LEVEL SPEED (knots): 800

SERVICE CEILING (m): 18,300

T-O RUN (m): 274

LANDING RUN (m): 1067