View Full Version : USAF orders 80 new F-15X's
NutLoose
30th Jan 2020, 17:17
You just can't keep a good design down, capable of carrying 22 air to air missiles each.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a26413900/air-force-buying-new-f-15/
weemonkey
30th Jan 2020, 17:26
So it's gone FBW.
That's a bit like fitting power steering onto a 205GTi ............easier steering but losing a bit of it's soul...
Lonewolf_50
30th Jan 2020, 18:14
An article (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-19/air-force-wants-eight-upgraded-boeing-fighters-along-with-f-35s) at Bloomberg has revealed that the USAF will request eight F-15X fighters in its budget.
The service plans to buy 80 fighters over five years.
That's enough to fit out a wing of 72 aircraft, divided into three squadrons of 24 planes each, with eight spares.
That's just the five-year projection, though, and the service may buy additional fighters beyond 2025. From Nutty's link.
Seems to be a good idea, in terms of "high-low mix" insofar as capability goes.
MPN11
30th Jan 2020, 18:51
Reminds me of a former OC 5 Sqn advocating the FC-130 over the North Sea dispensing AMRAAM in large quantities against the Soviet hordes.
I understand the concept, as an outsider.
Pontius Navigator
30th Jan 2020, 20:48
Reminds me of a former OC 5 Sqn advocating the FC-130 over the North Sea dispensing AMRAAM in large quantities against the Soviet hordes.
I understand the concept, as an outsider.
I always thought the Vulcan with a couple of rotary launchers. Could reach up in to the Norwegian Sea, zap any Bear or Badger, force Backfire to evade and go supersonic much earlier.
Wee Weasley Welshman
30th Jan 2020, 23:06
F15 going into 2040 will be an epic achievement.
Makes a lot of sense to me when they have ~400 F15's who can still mix it up with most of the worlds airforces and can still deliver a hell of a bomb load plus a few a2a missiles to look after itself and still has decent legs. Hell of a machine for a modest new investment.
WWW
Asia Trails
31st Jan 2020, 02:30
Powered by G.E. F110-GE-129 series engines instead of the traditional F100-PW-229
Bushfiva
31st Jan 2020, 05:39
At 22s into the video on the news site (https://youtu.be/KaK_uSeCJgg?t=24), what am I looking at? Is it coincidence all those bits are moving in unison, or are they linked somehow?
pr00ne
31st Jan 2020, 06:26
So, reading the article it would appear that the op headline is a tad misleading.
What it should say is that the USAF would like to order eight F-15X and has a future requirement for some 80 over 5 years. It hasn't actually ordered a single one yet.
Jhieminga
31st Jan 2020, 08:52
At 22s into the video on the news site, what am I looking at? Is it coincidence all those bits are moving in unison, or are they linked somehow?
They mounted the GoPro (or similar) to the inside of the canopy frame and you are seeing the canopy closing.
Bushfiva
31st Jan 2020, 10:18
I are a fule. I just saw the entire cockpit rising.
dead_pan
31st Jan 2020, 11:54
I are a fule. I just saw the entire cockpit rising.
Neat optical trick. It could be a design feature for future evolutions to help the pilot and WSO get in and out of the the aircraft without kicking any of those uber- expensive flat panel displays.
22 missiles? As Uncle Joe said, quantity has a quality of it's own......
jmmoric
31st Jan 2020, 12:45
If Boeing has financial problems, one way is to order military equipment, whether needed or not....
It's okay I suppose.
(But a nice aircraft indeed)
weemonkey
31st Jan 2020, 17:00
22 missiles? As Uncle Joe said, quantity has a quality of it's own......
But it kinda scuppers any idea of a quick OTR if "winchester" :eek:
GlobalNav
31st Jan 2020, 21:34
If Boeing has financial problems, one way is to order military equipment, whether needed or not....
It's okay I suppose.
(But a nice aircraft indeed)
Hopefully, Boeing St Louis doesn’t suffer the maladies of Max and Pegasus fame.
Asturias56
1st Feb 2020, 08:10
22 missiles! They're obviously expecting the opposition to come in VERY large numbers..................
dead_pan
1st Feb 2020, 10:54
22 missiles! They're obviously expecting the opposition to come in VERY large numbers..................
...or to go out in very small numbers
Asturias56
1st Feb 2020, 14:16
yea but you'd have to hang around for months for some airforces to get 22 targets heading your way.......................
Easy Street
1st Feb 2020, 16:58
yea but you'd have to hang around for months for some airforces to get 22 targets heading your way.......................
Unless willing to take insane risk, BVR combat against a peer adversary is about running them out of missiles before you do. Several may be expended before any kills are achieved...
Asturias56
1st Feb 2020, 18:01
I was thinking about aircraft availability TBH - back in 2018 the Luftwaffe only had 10 mission ready Typhoons at one point.
That F-15 pilot might be up there for days waiting for them......................
Easy Street
1st Feb 2020, 22:03
I was thinking about aircraft availability TBH - back in 2018 the Luftwaffe only had 10 mission ready Typhoons at one point.
That F-15 pilot might be up there for days waiting for them......................
*scratches head* Are you expecting the USAF to go up against the Luftwaffe??
Although in a slightly more likely NATO Art V scenario, your point neatly illustrates why the US needs to be able to put a lot of missiles in the air!!
West Coast
2nd Feb 2020, 03:25
I hear the new call sign of these F15s is bullet catcher.
Transit contested airspace, baiting the other guy to come get you, hoping the F22/F35 get to them first. That’s not to say the F15 isn’t still a good platform, but the whole concept relies on the F15 enticing bad guys to come take a pot shot at them.
Asturias56
2nd Feb 2020, 08:15
*scratches head* Are you expecting the USAF to go up against the Luftwaffe??
Although in a slightly more likely NATO Art V scenario, your point neatly illustrates why the US needs to be able to put a lot of missiles in the air!!
It was an illustration - I couldn't find any figures for availability of either the Russians or the Chinese oddly enough. :rolleyes:
Easy Street
2nd Feb 2020, 08:43
It was an illustration - I couldn't find any figures for availability of either the Russians or the Chinese oddly enough. :rolleyes:
So why did you comment on the likely number of targets that the USAF might need to face? In the absence of open source statistics I would feel very confident in making an assumption that (especially) China would be able to field substantially more than 22 aircraft at a time and place of its choosing.
Asturias56
2nd Feb 2020, 10:16
It was a humorous aside........................ but since you bring the question up how many aircraft does anyone expect to see coming over the horizon in one go - or in a couple of hours?
the PLA have around around 120 H-6's for example - so if they all turn up at once..........
alf5071h
2nd Feb 2020, 13:06
Asturias56, Easy Street, the issue is not the number of aircraft, but the total threat which has to be managed.
There may only be one TU 95 Bear, but with sixteen long-range, independently targeted, standoff cruise missiles, that aircraft demands a different approach.
So too the context of the conflict; conventional attrition warfare - WW2, a kill rate of 15% could win, in a nuclear conflict then anything less than 100% could be a lost cause; and then all scenarios in between.
Then add the expected (theoretical) effectiveness of the defence, add a bit for practicality, and some more just incase you are wrong, or opposing jamming systems improve, etc.
Also consider the countries involved, technology, political constraint; Vietnam, Middle East, - superiority in any area could be offset by any other; and then who assesses victory - those who define the war crimes.
Are the F15 missiles air to air or air to ground. Could advancing technology enable a dual use missile, air or ground.
Asturias56
2nd Feb 2020, 18:54
Good point Alf...................
BVRAAM
3rd Feb 2020, 16:30
I love the fact that the Eagle will be around for many more years to come!
The question I have is, will the X models be made mostly of composite materials, like "true" 4.5 generation fighters, or will the wings and fuselage continue to be aluminium?
Tech Guy
3rd Feb 2020, 20:43
I hear the new call sign of these F15s is bullet catcher.
Transit contested airspace, baiting the other guy to come get you, hoping the F22/F35 get to them first. That’s not to say the F15 isn’t still a good platform, but the whole concept relies on the F15 enticing bad guys to come take a pot shot at them.
Would be interesting to see the look on the bad guys face when he realises there are 22 warheads bearing down on him. :eek:
Asturias56
4th Feb 2020, 07:37
AS discussed above I don't think the idea is to let rip the whole lot at one guy... :uhoh: