Eagle vs Hornet - Boeing's fighters square off for remaining ordersBy Jamie Hunter
06 June 2008
Although now notionally Boeing aircraft, both the F-15E Strike Eagle and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet have their roots in McDonnell Douglas, before its amalgamation into Boeing in 1997.
Both will remain in production for at least another four years but, given the pre-eminence of Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor in the fighter market and with the company's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) primed to fill multiple roles in the future, Eagle and Hornet are set to be the company's final manned fighters. Meanwhile, Boeing is keen to plug gaps caused by JSF delays and its two fighters come loaded with new technology and promises of relatively quick delivery, but how much life is left in these designs?
The F-15 Eagle was first conceived to meet the US Air Force (USAF) Fighter Experimental (FX) programme, launched on 29 April 1965. The programme came as a direct result of combat experience in the Vietnam War and led to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 being ordered without a fly-off against competing designs. The first YF-15A rolled off the St Louis line on 26 June 1972 and the Eagle entered service just over two years later.
An improved F-15C/D variant followed - a total of 483 F-15Cs and 92 F-15Ds were built between 1979 and 1985 - and the C variant proved its combat credentials in Operation 'Desert Storm' in 1991, accounting for 36 Iraqi aircraft.
The Eagle had already been blooded in Israeli service, claiming to have shot down 56 aircraft. Israel placed its first order for 23 F-15A/B models in 1975 under 'Peace Fox I and II', with the aircraft (known locally as 'Baz') delivered from 1976. A further 18 F-15Cs and 13 F-15Ds followed under 'Peace Fox III and IV', followed by a further undisclosed batch after the 1990-91 Gulf War.
In the Middle East, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) received 47 F-15Cs and 15 F-15Ds, which achieved their first air-to-air victories (against Iranian Phantoms) on 5 June 1984.
Another early Eagle customer, the Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF), first evaluated the F-15 in 1975 and selected it to replace the F-104J Starfighter. The first two F-15Js (broadly based on the F-15C) were built in the United States, with the first flight taking place on 4 June 1980. Eight more were subsequently assembled under licence by Mitsubishi, the first of these making its maiden flight on 26 August 1981. McDonnell Douglas also built the first 12 F-15DJs before production switched entirely to Japan, where Mitsubishi built 163 F-15Js and 36 F-15DJs, bringing the overall total to 213 aircraft for the JASDF.
In 1978, the USAF began the Tactical All-Weather Requirements Study (TAWRS) to evaluate the Strike Eagle proposal, as well as other options including the cranked-arrow winged F-16XL and the Panavia Tornado. The new aircraft needed outstanding targeting capabilities, supreme low-level performance in all conditions and the ability to tackle any opposing fighters.
Image: An F/A-18C lifts off from USS John C Stennis. The US Navy is studying a serious life-extension programme for early aircraft. (USN)
Source
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/air/idr/idr080606_1_n.shtml
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