The F-15EX Eagle II: How and Why the F-15 Got Unbelievably Good
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
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So when are we going to get the a-1 skyraider video
when i look for quality effective hair loss products, the balder the man - the more authoritative the recommendation
Not advertising scam light masks on this channel?
Just watched the ad just because it was so hillarious.
BTW: I´m bald too. 😅
It seems to me it ought be thanks to Boeing for sponsoring this video.
By the time the F-15EX is retired, ideally, the first warp-powered Starships will be coming online.
and then they'll just retrofit the F-15 to have those engines... F-15EXW?
is that before or after the fighter-mecha version?
the only way Elon can make his weird Mars promises through in our lifetime.
They will find a way to adapt the F15 to warp drive and deep space travel. Just wait.
Ahh, the F-15EXEX Eagle III.
By the time it's retired...the B-52 will be getting another upgrade.
Grandpa BUFF will never die
HAHAHAHA!!!
My grandfather helped design the B52. He died years ago but I take comfort knowing his handiwork is still protecting us.
And there are pilots flying the same B-52 their grandfather flew -- not just the same model, but the exact same _airframe_.
Grandpa BUFF is just too well-designed. Despite it being designed in a hotel room over a weekend. Oh well, it just works.
@@mattblom3990 That's because it's designed by the original Boeing company. Todays Boeing is an entirely different company. Anything todays Boeing does to the B-52 will just ruin it
The people saying all aircraft need to be stealth are still thinking like it's the 90's. Our military is heavily networked. You don't need a stealth plane that can internally carry 22 AMRAMs to maintain stealth. You need something that can stealthily locate and identify a target and provide telemetry for a firing solution that your "missile truck" can then use to fire from what would normally be an absurd distance to try to get a firing solution. 35 is eyes, 15EX is the fist in this scenario and at a fraction of the cost and with no meaningful increase in logistics and maintenance. 15EX is a great idea. You can still use the 22s and 35s as needed but it's worth remembering that in a situation where something is externally mounted on one of those planes, it's not stealthy anymore. 22s and 35s have teeth, just not very many of them. A good missile truck is the solution.
this is the way
This is really the best use of the dainty F-35, it’s got the most advanced electronics but is just too delicate for big engagements. F-15 literally excels at everything the F-35 isn’t capable of.
Brains and Brawn.
Took the words right out of my mouth. The f-15ex makes up for any potential weakness or need that a 35 or 22 might need. This is especially true once we start releasing longer range missiles that are too big for an f 35 to carry stealthily
The main issue is that requires being over friendly or neutral airspace.
If you're conducting an operation deep inside another country, the f-15 would still be vulnerable to missiles coming at it that could well be sent from further away, on a ground platform, or something that was covered.
You don't need stealth if you can carry SIX jassms.
104 and 0
look out below
took out a satellite
just for show
A man of culture I see.
Also took out a Mi-24 Hind helicopter with a bomb. Air to air kill with a freakin bomb.
@@FeralRC yeah, I chalk that up to the pilot just showing off. LOL
Gaia online pfp and HLC quips. Nice
@@FeralRC A training bomb at that, no warhead, just kinetic energy kill. Basically killed them with a big ole concrete block.
It's designed to work hand in hand with the F-35. The F-35 is a flying computer able to now share it's data with the F-15EX. The F-15EX can carry up to 20 LRAAM's that once fired can be handed off to the F-35 for final targeting if needed. Another scenario is the F-35 cleans out the AA missile defense leaving a hole the F-15EX can exploit with it's massive bomb loads.
Yeah, the 35 can just fly in and give targeting data to the 15-EX. It's a missile truck that can also act as an interceptor and long range strike package all in one.
@@StevenLandesVO With the AIM-174B and an AWACS the F-15EX doesn't even need an F-35. The AWACS can see the approximate location of stealth aircraft and guide the AIM-174B close enough that it's own seeker (the same one as in the AIM-120D AMRAAM) can lock the plane once it goes pitbull.
Raytheon has already had individual long range cruise missiles that do exactly this for this very reason. They've had them for 20 years so, no need to put needless soldiers at risk.
Missile truck
The maximum EX air to air load is 12 (Sidewinder and AMRAAM combined) and not 20.
Most countries would dream about having an Air Force with a squadron or two with F-15EX's or comparable fighters. The fact that the United States are planning on equipping national guards in each states, rather than the Air Force itself, with the F-15EXs shows just how much firepower the United States has in terms of air power.
I don't disagree with your statement, but I do think it's important to mention that the regular U.S. military is constitutionally limited in its ability to respond to threats within U.S. borders without congressional approval.
National Guards do not have the same restrictions. The Oregon Air National Guard for example is responsible for patrolling the airspace from Northern California to British Columbia.
When a mentally unwell ground crew stole a commuter plane in Seattle a few years back, it was the F-15s out of Portland that were scrambled to intercept if they determined it necessary to shoot it down. Not any fighters from the areas massive Navy, Air Force or Army's presence.
Well we literally have the three largest and best air forces in the world m. So that kinda goes without saying that we definitely kick everyone’s ass with our air power and many nations savor this advantage we have.
Congress is forcing the Air Force to keep A-10s & F-15Es as job programs. We would be much better off following the Air Force's plan to retire many of them.
my country Indonesia already signed a deal with the US to buy a couple dozens of F15EX
@@nathansheldahlI think we only have the two best. I’m pretty sure the marines or national guard (or any other section of the gov that has planes) lags behind China (and maybe Russia depending on if their planes actually fly) and it’s a stretch to actually call the army an Air Force since it’s all helicopters, even if quantity of “aircraft” on paper puts it in the top 3 they’re not actually planes and don’t full fill most aircraft roles so it’s a stretch to say they’re an air force
I work on a military base which has housed and worked with the 15s for years. I have seen these EX in person and watched as they stress them. It is impressive.
I was on the F-18 line right beside it and watched them take the picture at 2:57 and 7:05 . watching them take off never gets old
@@p3t3rrrn so quick… straight up like a rocket ship, immediately into an inversion and gone into some clouds…. Then you hear them.
Never gets old is right!
@@p3t3rrrnEX needs a new nickname like the Rhino
Another couple of issues showed up over the past 10 years. Russia, China,and other countries were routinely encroaching upon US airspace. We would send up an F-35 or maybe even an F-22 and the encounter gave the other country the ability to test their radar and other detection systems. Also, the F-35 was not capable of carrying some of the newest and largest missiles and bombs, and the F-22 was not an ideal choice because external weapons nearly negated the stealth capability. So, the logical thing was to modernize the F-15, thereby saving money by not having to develop a new platform, speeding up the procurement process,and helping save hours on our stealth fighters. Also, they had an issue with a Russian fighter that we dispatched an F-22 to intercept. The Russians couldn't see it until the last minute, and they had a closer than comfortable encounter. With the F-15EX, the adversary can see it but will also know it carries a big stick. Hopefully, this acts a deterrent against stupidly staged theatrics.
A good point, I never thought of that. Russian bombers coming in, testing the airspace, They can't bug out until the last minute because they can't see the damn fighters sent to intercept!
Clever. You want your defence to be seen. Otherwise you might have to use your defence and trigger an incident.
When F-35's are sent to do that, they have radar reflectors on them to make them visible. Those encroachments are to test response times, and you can't really avoid giving that info away, so no need to give away anything about the stealth properties of the planes. You WANT them to see you coming, anyways. Give them the response time info they're after. Then they still don't know if that info is worth anything to them, or if you're just sandbagging cus - let's face it - who is going to panic and rush to intercept two clapped out Sukhois? If you send stealth planes in stealth configuration, not only do they learn at what exact distance they can detect you, but they also learn your real response time. Cus why are you even sending stealth planes in stealth configuration, if you're not taking it seriously?
Besides, if the EX has a radar developed this century, it can still see anything Ruzzia has, long before being seen itself.
Good thing that Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 and Qatar 🇶🇦 payed for the entire “Advanced Eagle”program and the US just piggy backed later on and bought a few of them as a stop gap and to keep the Eagle line open for possible export sales to fill Boeing’s koffers.
Please learn history or don’t post at all before making up 💩
@@ashscott6068 Thank you for mentioning the reflectors.
RUclips showing me this the second it drops. Hell yeah
hell yeah
Hell yeah
With the United State's focus on Stealth across the board, imagine the terror of knowing US aircraft are operating in the area and that you actually SAW one on radar. That means it doesn't care if you see it, which is in and of itself, terrifying.
Who needs stealth when you can't hit the damn thing?
Yeah, flying openly into your airspace and onto your radar is a really big "FUCK YOU."
If you see an Eagle on radar just know a Raptor is waiting in the tall grass
The F-15 is like the big brother to the dainty stealth fighters. It is the Honey Badger of fighter bombers.
@@helpfromabove6400 Quite possibly that's the Wild Weasel & he's only the decoy for the for the hunter you can't see. 😋
16:33 The F-15 is a second wave aircraft. It follows the stealth bombers in and cleans up anything in the air and the systems left on the ground. 22-24 hard points is a lot of clean up ability.
Or "mess up" ability. Depending on what end of the stick you're at.
It's not a second wave aircraft. It's supposed to go in the first wave just behind stealth aircraft, as a "missile truck". The F35 is a mini AWACS, scanning everything around without being seen.
The F35 then uses the datalink to shoot the missiles carried by the F15, without having to open its own weapon bays and compromise its stealth.
When paired with the F22, the F15 is a high speed, long range interceptor.
The F15 can fly faster and has longer range than the f35, it can strike deep into enemy territory right after the initial cruise missile barrage, using its speed and electronic warfare to blind enemy sensors.
Working alongside stealth aircraft is optimal, but the F15 can still do an excellent job by itself.
My Father worked at McDonnell Douglas and on the F-15 from the beginning. In the early 80s he worked on the F-15 in Saudi Arabia, laying the groundwork for the SA version that became the EX. He would be very proud that the plane he started working on in the late 1960s will be around until 2100. Wow.
Yes its a fantastic legacy, just shows what a good design it was from the beginning that its still being used with its upgrades.
The F-15 SA was developed past 2010, so nobody working on F-15C/Ds did anything even remotely connected to the SA and SR in the 1980s 🙄
@@xyzaero, I said, he was "laying the groundwork", didn't say he worked on the SA version. Yes, the Saudis got the C/D version in the early 80s and after flying them for a few years came up with a wish list of improvements, which led to the F-15SA and the F-15QA for Qatar.
2100? I could see 2050 but another 76 years definitely seems like a massive stretch
@@JoeBeaudette If they can keep the B52 flying all these years, the F15 in theory could also be upgraded.
You just know that Keeps loves to have our beloved, bald, Englishman Simon plugging them as a sponsor. They literally troll him with each ad copy and the darned commercial spot is just as entertaining as the content (which is chef's kiss exquisite).
We love our bald Simon, and Keeps should write some ad copy to slowly expose Simon's hair journey throughout life. The trolling would be next level and we would watch it all!
I just want to see Rogaine take out an ad just to have him tell everyone Keeps is the same exact thing they've been selling since the 1980's.
and these things are LOUD. They take off from Portland, and you can hear them from inside other commercial planes, or across town inside offices. Everyone knows when some pilot somewhere in the northwest did something they weren't supposed to, cause when these eagles deploy, there's no attempt to hide it.
It's pretty surreal to see them go full vertical over the river and disappear into the clouds just as the sound wave hits.
Actually, there quieter than the F15C model that has been there for a few decades. But I'm sure they will be showing off its capabilities often and testing it out. Just like any new aircraft, the Air Force enjoys showing it off and testing it out. It's not as loud as the F35, at least that jet is very loud taking off.
F15 has always been my favorite aircraft. The new EX is honestly the most dangerous thing in the air
16:19 It's worth to mention that not only this article by Episkopos was made before we saw the S-400 abysmal performance against Ukraine's aged Mig-29 and SU-25 fleet (who's still operating to this day with most airframe losses being by Iskander missiles against airfields instead of S-300 and S-400), but also Episkopos is also a massive tankie. So that idea that the F-15EX would be vulnerable to S-400s might have to be taken with a grain of salt
You gotta listen to both sides, but mentioning his assessment of an american plane is like asking what Ronald Reagan thinks about the Soviet Union.
It's not that the S-400 isn't capable of performing well, it's been a series of poor decisions when deploying the systems that has led to those failures. We're also seeing those systems targeted early on by Ukraine to degrade their effectiveness. So that demonstrates their importance that Ukraine goes out of its way to launch risky operations to take out S-400 systems. The Russians also don't have a lot of wartime experience with the S-400, nor are they effectively screening with their own aircraft
@@joshuapowell2675 Soviet and Russian air defences are meant to be operated in a layer that's the issue. The s400 is meant to only intercept ballistic missiles and not planes, cruise missiles or drones so it vulnerable to all of those and additional air defence systems need to be around s400 to protect it. Russia does not have enough air defence systems to create the layering needed, so the s400 is put by itself in the empty fields and then proceeds to get destroyed to a drone. In the other hand, US Patriots can intercept anything.. they are specialists are ballistic targets but they can intercept any drones, cruise missile and any plane
@@ms3862mah the s500 was the anti icbm onw
What??? @@ms3862
Most of what comes out of ukraine is lies & propaganda. They make bold claims but never provide any evidence. Remember the Ghost of Kyvia? or how about last years offensive that was Pushing Russia back?
The S-400 system is working fine as Ukr does dare move the few fighters they have left near russian territory. The biggest issue is the vast border that needs to be defended, & SAM operators avoiding shooting down friendlys & commericial aircraft. UKr (really NATO) uses low flying drones & missiles that travel very close to the ground to hide from RADAR limiting the detection range system.
Currently Russia has been fighting this war with one hand tied behind its back. Most of the attacks are from NATO; using NATO weapons operated by NATO operatives, targeted by NATO observation platforms, & Russia avoiding attacking NATO targets in NATO countries. As well as trying to avoid civilian causalities, despite Ukr using civilians as human shields (ie putting command centers, depots in civilian areas (ie hospitals, shopping centers, etc).
Long story short: Russia tells everyone they have a super advanced fictional super jet, we designed a jet to beat it, and then found out Russia lied, and their jet actually sucks. We now have an actual super jet, then decide 20 years later we should probably have jet that can beat our own super jet.
Fast forward another 30 years, and Russia is banging on about a whole new fictional super jet. We look at it, and decide it’s such a disappointment, that we can just modify a 50 year old jet because the 30 year old jet is still overkill, and we’d rather have a cheaper option for most scenarios.
Yep
Pretty much
Sounds about right 😂
Couldn't have said it better.
Well, it's only fair; the MiG-25 was developed to counter the US B-70, and when that program was canceled, the CCCP just doubled down on the MiG-25, presenting various maskirovka to portray it as much more capable than it was.
With the AIM-174B having just been deployed on the Super Hornet, it won't be long before the F-15 (all variants) will get it too. Having an air to air missile with a stupid long range, that is datalink capable so even AWACS can direct it, is scary in it's own right. But having a pack of blistering fast "bomb trucks", strapping 12 of them each, is the stuff nightmares are made of for any adversary.
All the new added maneuverability of the EX is all fine and dandy, but it's the new long range ESA radar and the new long range missiles that makes this fast a plane with this much carrying capacity a concept that will be useful for a long time. Putting warheads on foreheads is the bread and butter of war. And the F-15EX is specifically for that. Having sneaky squirrels do pin point strikes is essential for opening up the corridors, but when it is open, and it's time to lay down the law, blowing shit to kingdom come, left, right and center, as cheaply, quickly and effectively as possible is what you call the F-15s for.
Unlikely to see them on the Eagle. Different missions. Also, the Mako is probably coming soon.
It's interesting the concept of using a stealth aircraft as a invisible guidance system supporting F-15 payload delivery mission.
I fell in love with this plane the first time I read about it.
I see the possibility of it also featuring an unmanned version, and perhaps mini-me versions in the form of wingman drones.
Not knocking the F-16, F-22 or the F-35. I see them as all part of a team, and perhaps may be required one day to defend our own shores from increasingly dangerous adversaries.
There is precisely one “increasingly dangerous adversary,” and they’re still fantasizing about being able to project power beyond the South China Sea. They haven’t fought an actual war in _45 years_ (when they lost against a much smaller adversary) so all of their prowess is basically hypothetical.
Rest easy. The U.S. is under no even remotely credible conventional threat.
As a kid I was always in awe of the F-15 as well …..if for nothing else than the fact it can take off, literally stand on its tail at 90 degrees, and fly straight up to 60,000+ feet *in less than a minute*
Even better, we built this machine of absolute dominance to counter the very concerning claims of the MiG-25 only to realize in the end that, like everything else, the Soviets flat out lied about it.
We can thank the Soviet mentality for so many incredible aircraft like the F-15.
That said i disagree about its potential for unmanned drone / loyal wingman roles as it’s overkill for that. A lot of additional weight and design trade offs are necessary to design a fighter around a human crew. Without concern for humans a much higher performance and lighter wingman aircraft could be designed capable of pulling Gs humans cannot and this opens the door to some REALLY cool tech like an aircraft able to adjust its shape for extreme maneuvering. You know how a jet ski can essentially stand on its nose and do a 180 instantly? We could do that with an aircraft designed without human occupants.
The 104-0 kill ratio says the F-15 is already unbelievably good.
The F-15EX upgrade just makes it better.
Well... two F-15Es were shot down. Perhaps a 3rd.
@@donwyoming1936 The 104-0 kill ratio is based off on aerial combat between fighter jets. I think the F-15s that you are talking about were shot down by Iraqi SA-2E missiles.
The F35 paints the targets, the Eagle II manages additional drones and launches its onboard ordinance from beyond effective hostile engagement range at 1/2 the price of F35s. And it Seal Team 6's anything that isn't itself stealth.
And a few things that are stealth. F15 has some of the best radar in the Air Force, and the Eagle II got an upgrade.
With the AIM-174B there is no need to send an F-35 or F-22 unless the adversary specifically has stealth aircraft of it's own. The F-15EX or the F/A-18E/F with AWACS coverage can perfectly do the job alone in that case.
Current F15ex and f35 purchase price are nearly identical
F-15EX costs more than F-35A so forget your half price wet dream 😂
80 jets are also just a 10-15 year stopgap until B-21 (and derivates) takes over most of the air to air game.
Don't forget the thrust to weight ratio that is greater than 1. This allows the Eagle to take off vertically is needed.
To rephrase your statement... Due to the thrust to weight ratio, it's one of those aircraft that even when you pull the stick and head up vertical, it will steel keep accelerating... And can break the sound barrier at that.
@@keso_de_bola1750 the one that broke the sound barrier was heavily modified and stripped of weight to break that record iirc, otherwise the higher you go the less thick air becomes and the less thrust your engine produces, so the TWR decreases as altitude increases. Doesn't take away from the fact it has a high TWR though, that's impressive by itself
Most modern aircraft have a thrust to weight ratio that is greater than one. Even underpowered ones like the JF-17 and J-15.
A decade ago I spent a few years building F-15SA’s on the assembly line in St. Louis (you can even see my old work station @ 6:43), I can say the pride taken in the quality of work there is incredible.
I can’t speak for the guys building commercial aircraft in the northwest, but the military aircraft operations in STL are second to none.
Ten years later I have changed career paths and grown a lot professionally, but I still have dreams about working on that line.
I can tell you this much, when I was medically unqualified to become a pilot in the military. (I really wanted to fly the F15 or obviously the F22 my entire life.) I have been close to moving to be able to work for Boeing or Lockheed. But family and all that.....
I first saw an f15 when i was about 5 or 6, it was in front of our family van... we went to visit my uncle and cousins down at norfolk. It was taxi'ing down the main drag to get onto his part of the base. Have a family video of it
Yeah, that’s a formula for lifelong obsession!
14:14 The forward fuselage changes were made to minimize complexity and expedite production at higher rates…not because there was any problem with the existing design.
F-1SEX Let's go!
This is why F-1 will always be better than NASCAR
WE still need the B-ONE R variant
My favorite 9G jet. Always loved the Eagle. Something about two big honkin engines, a 50’000ft/min ROC with a 60,000’ msl service ceiling, and a MMO of M2.5. Got to love it.
In the mid 70s I would go with friends to the "public viewing area" at the St Louis airport just to watch the new F15s practice vertical "viking" takeoffs. A near vertical attack using full afterburners. It was a truly awesome (and rather deafening) display. At that time the F15 was the only fighter aircraft that could pull it off.
I miss the old parking lot at the end of the Lambert runway that had the tower radio speakers where you could watch the planes take off. I loved it when the MO ANG Phantoms and new production Eagles would take off right over your head there.
raf lightning?
The 60s designers of F15, F16 and F18 certainly have produced dominant masterpieces. Maybe thankful to various flops in the Soviet / PLAAF arsenals. Need to watch out, though, for the Western World’s adversaries being able to get their acts together by producing shock greats like the equivalence of Zeros or MIG 15s in the coming years.
Or just stealing the designs through traitors. That is the more likely scenario.
unfortunately all the white engineers who designed these magnificent craft have been chased out of corporations by affirmative action discrimination and now we can't build a passenger plane that doesn't break every week
@@david7384all the “white engineers “? Tells me the size of your brain cells
Especially comparing their design. MiGs are ugly, Sukhoi planes are not bad, but the fighters you mentioned are sexy as hell.
@@user-ex3lo7pk9j with US MIC companies poor computer security, no traitor is needed.
The F-15 has been my favorite jet fighter since I was a kid. I love the way it looks. It's performance has never been anything to scoff at and it's battlefield record is tried and true. Learning that it is getting a second lease on life with upgrades that take it far into the future as the reliable workhorse that it is is wonderful. Thanks!
This just goes to show how great of a design the original 1970’s F-15 was. What an absolute masterpiece of aeronautical engineering and design.
I remember seeing an active service US F-15 pilot talk about the tactics they where developing to use with this and the F-22 and F-35. It was scary.
Now where the AIM-174B has "come online" it's even scarier. An F-35/F-22, an AWACS and an F-15EX loaded with 12 AIM-174Bs can effectively enforce a no-fly zone, even against Su-57s and J-20s, that is about 600 miles wide and 200 miles deep.
F-15 first jet to shoot down a satellite, shot down a helicopter with a bomb, first jet to lose a wing in training and still land, overall undefeated since 1988...
I am a big fan of the F-15EX, thanks for covering it Simon!
The problem with the critic hating the f15EX not being stealth forget that in war stealth is very limited along with its maintanence issue to its usage as the war progresses mass volume become high in demand as war of attrition and loitering hours start to become demanding and a plane fast with a supported logistics and carry capacity is far more valuable then the expensive high maintenance plane
Indeed. The stealth is vital in the initial winning of air superiority, but once that is achieved and the skies are effectively uncontested, no need to put unnecessary stress on your stealth airframes
@@cynthiaherbst3909 With the AIM-174B the F-15EX is absolutely capable of participating in the air dominance battle. All it needs is a big ass AWACS to hang back, outside of enemy missile range, to paint targets for it. The AIM-174B is datalink capable, so the AWACS can drive it to the rough location of enemy asets, after which it's own seeker takes over. The F-15EX can outrun any response due to the absurd range of the AIM-174B.
@@andersjjensen AWACS is helpful, but it's also a known target for hostile airpower, plus the sensor packages on F35s mean you have a forward picket that can see targets and threats as well as additional SA beyond the AWACS. As I mentioned stealth is in the initial winning of air supremacy and to turn contested environments into uncontested ones.
Thanks for pointing out that the F-15 can come in as a second wave behind stealthy aircraft. We saw the effectiveness of this in Operation Desert Storm.
You mean we saw that US is good only against much smaller countries?
I still recall reading the article in Popular Science introducing the F15. Most notably that it could accelerate while in a vertical climb. But that was 50 years ago! Imagine if the US were still using WWI airplanes in WWII. And that's only about 20 years out of date, not 50.
Issue there is that we aren't at war, and have reached a point of HEAVY diminishing returns nowadays.
In the WWII/cold war era, most countries were spending an absurd amount of budget on research and development, to the point that public services practically weren't a thing.
There isn't that urgency anymore, and the eagle, as said in the video, is just a budget saving measure rather than a true development in military aviation. Right now, most politicians and company leads are concerned with cost cutting over "fuck it, make the best thing humanly possible."
It's why we still use the A-10, for example.
The fact that we are using tech, both in terms of civilian use, and in the military, that's been around since like the ,60s/70s/80s is largely because we haven't really had a peer to peer conflict on the horizon to NEED to leak forward like in WWII. like, basic props to jets and rockets in a decade? Wild.
The F-15EX is a fast missile truck. Some of the newer missiles under development allow one aircraft to haul the missile into the sky and launch it while another (stealthier) aircraft guides it toward the target, without the stealthier aircraft having to haul external stores or pop open its internal stores. The F-15EX is also capable of hauling large quantities of laser-guided bombs, including longer-range glide bombs, able to be guided on target in similar fashion. The F-22 or F-35 will be able to pick the targets, the F-15EX will haul the munitions (so the other aircraft don't have to compromise their stealth) and the combination will splash the targets. The upgraded B-52J is also a bomb truck, capable of hauling munitions for such joint operations (plus being able to haul / target / launch cruise missiles).
The F-15 has always been faster and better-climbing than the F-16, but the F-16 was more nimble 'cuz fly-by-wire; the F-15 A, B, C, D and E were all mechanical controls, not fly-by-wire. The F-15EX is fly-by-wire; the F-16's only remaining advantages over the F-15EX are being smaller and cheaper to operate.
GE has been working on making the exhaust nozzles capable of vectored thrust. Some of the newer Sukhoi and MiG fighters have this, and the F-22 has always had 2D vectored thrust (pitch and roll). If the F-15EX can be upgraded, down the road, to 3D vectored thrust (pitch, roll and yaw) ... it still won't be stealthy but it will be a much better dancer, possibly able to out-dance an F-22.
F-15EX will be retired in 15 years once B-21 and NGAD took over. An 80 strong jet fleet is just a stop gap, nothing more.
A two-axis thrust vectoring F-15 already exists, look up the F-15 ACTIVE program. It even had canards to test extreme maneuverability.
It’s likely that the cost:benefit of added weight and complexity for thrust vectoring in a production F-15 is simply not worth it.
@@sircrapalot9954 You should read NASA’s 400 page “Flying beyond the stall” book, before making claims that are not true.
The US and western allies sank BILLIONS into thrust vector control research. The reason why they are not implemented (except for the F-22 wich has “aiding thrust vectoring”) in production jets has different reasons.
- There was no more enemy (peace dividend)
- the stealth and BVR religion wich shut down everything else
Furthermore the F110 and F100 engines (F-15/ F-16) have tested and production ready 3D nozzles available and these nozzle weighs negligently more than a standard nozzle and are the same size.
The 2D vector nozzle on F-15 STOL/MTD (NOT ACTIVE) was so huge and heavy, because it also included a “in flight and on the ground thrust reverser” in addition to the 2D nozzles.
F-15 ACTIVE was a different program focused on flight controls and had normal sized 3D nozzles without thrust reverser.
A test SU-27 has the same arrangement on one engine and the assembly is HUGE compared to the normal AL-31F 2D nozzles.
Thrust vectoring does not take up much space and weight, nor cost, but the benefits are HUGE.
I’ve always been an F-15 fan. Enough like the F-14, faster than a rocket, and nothing like the F-16. Perfect.
Two engines, two pilots, twice the carrying capacity, about twice as big and almost twice as expensive. An F-16 is basically half an F-15. Which is all good and well until you need to be two places at once. Then having two F-16s is better than cleaving an F-15 down the middle.
People that complain don't understand that the F-15EX can get data from the F-35 to fire missiles from almost 100 miles away as a missile truck. 22 air to air missiles!!! Yeah.
2100! That would mean the F15 will have a service life longer than we HAVE HAD FLIGHT at this point. Fixed-wing powered flight for the pedantics. The Wright Flyer took off in 1903, the F15 Eagle entered service 73 years later in 1976, and this current model will be in service until 2100?! 124 YEARS OF SERVICE. We've had fixed-wing powered flight for 121 years at this point. Amazing.
Those engineers that originally designed the F15 airframe were far, far beyond their time, and the engineers that have continued to improve it are no less amazing.
The Eagle reigns supreme!!!!!!!
The GOAT air superiority platform.
How the Australian airforce could not fathom the F15 as the choice platform to replace the F111 was always beyond me. Now with the F15 EX taking the Eagle to a whole new level I am in love with it all over again.
My hometown Air National Guard, the 142nd Fighter Squadron, based in Portland OR has gotten the first shipments of the EX. It’s been super cool to see them in person. Beautiful airplanes
:08. I thought it was pretty cool seeing this jet. This is one of the jets that I actually worked on when I was at Langley. I have been in that jet and worked on the outside of it. I have been in the cockpit, testing the weapon systems on it and troubleshooting the weapon systems when they were not working correctly. This jet is from the 71st fighter squadron for which I was assigned to. You can tell it is from the 71st because it has a red stripe on the tail, a blue one is for the 94th and a yellow stripe is for the 27th. We had three squadrons of F-15’s at Langley. They wereC and D models.
Let us not forget this plane is the alt mode of Starscream
That's how I was introduced to the F-15
I'm proud to be a USAF brat and an Oregonian. The southern Oregonian base of the 40th FTS (the first unit to receive the F-15 EX) is located at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, which is near my home. The sound of freedom is often heard overhead. 'Merica!!!! 🇺🇲
I got to see this plane make its debut public appearance at St. Louis, this year and man… it’s crazy to watch an F-15 fly like an F-22. There was a Raptor at that show and my friend and I were comparing the two performances. Impressive engineering!
Pretty fancy bomb and missile truck
Don't forget interceptor. When lightly loaded with only air to air missiles this thing will chance down anything that isn't an SR-72. And at these altitudes the saying "you can run but you can't hide" doesn't hold true. You can't run and you can't hide. The AWACS will see you, the F-15 will run you down and the AIM-174B will blow you to confetti from up to 200 miles away, so you can't even shoot back, as the F-15 can outrun any known missile at that range.
There was initially suppose to be two models of the Eagle II: The one seater "X" and the two seater "EX". But since Boeing can only make two seaters, they made it so that the "EX" can be operated by a single pilot.
One thing about the F-15 a lot of people don’t know is there is a switch in it called the Vmax switch, which is safety wired with copper wire that can be easily broken. The Vmax switch gives it a big boost of power in case it needs to evade another plane or a weapon coming towards it. The downfall is it uses so much fuel that it needs to land very shortly after the use. I personally have never heard of it being used. And if I’m not mistaken, the engines have to be inspected after use of of the switch. It dumps an incredible amount of fuel into the engines and can cause problems, which is why they have to be inspected after the use. BTW when you see blue painted bands on the weapons that means they are inert. Live weapons will have yellow, brown and or red bands on them.
Love the video Simon. Where I’m from, the only military aircraft we have is the F-15 Eagle. Now we are getting the F-15EX at our Air National Guard bases. This video helped further understand the new aircraft. Hope the Air Force will keep it around for a long time
This is fantastic news for Hasbro/Takara! Skywarp, Thundercracker, Starscream and the rest of the Seekers can keep that Earthrise mould forever(!)...
I am sooo hooked on the Simon Whistler vids I am starting have a bit of a British accent, fer the luvuf bangers 'n' mash...
I was an aircraft refueler in the early 70's, stationed at Edwards AFB in the Mojave in southern California. I was lucky enough to be able to stand by and watch some of the flight testing of the Eagle. It was simply incredible. The rate of climb alone put it years ahead of anything else at the time. From a dead stop on the runway to out of sight in seconds! Just an amazing piece of aviation technology!
Great video here Simon. For my part...having been in USAF fighter maintenance for 22 years as a Crew Chief on Eagles for 19 years and A-10's for 3. The services are finding out that adding stealth capabilities to an airframe multiplies the amount of maintenance hours per flight hour by an insane amount. A stealthy aircraft is just a paperweight with wheels and wings if you can't get it working. Any high performance vehicle needs a lot of care and maintenance and adding a 'low observable' system to the aircraft just adds several layers just to get into the airframe to do any maintenance and then those layers need to be re-added to make the aircraft stealthy again. On the tactics side of things, a radar scope with no returns/targets on it because everybody is stealthy to some degree makes you pay far more attention to little momentary returns that might pop up. If you have a radar screen that has a bunch of returns on it that you know are out to get you as well as some you can't see, tends to 'buddy the waters' a bit.
"Muddy the waters"
Always loved this fighter! It's a beast!
the EX is truly beatiful beyond comprehension. If only we could actually mass produce the damn things.
The main takeaway is the role of the F15Ex II will be a very fast heavy weapons truck. in Boeing's words it serves as a long-range standoff weapons system that is also capable of penetrating and surviving in highly contested environments. Here is a scenario to help you imagine its role:
The F15ex II flies low and fast to avoid radar as part of a formation made up of different fighters performing different roles. The stealth fighters make the first move. The enemy air defense assets light up their radars and start shooting their missiles, the 15ex II will lock onto everything it can see and send a large volley of missiles. A Boeing EA-18G Growler will then immediately turn on its 5 jamming pods to help sheild all planes in the formation from the enemy's volley of incoming missiles. The F15Ex II has its own jammers giving it an extra level of protection, which will be handy given it just made itself target number one. Once the long-range air defense is taken out, the F15ex II may even have some left over missiles or bombs to join the other planes in attacking the main objective.
16:09, the F-15 EX doesn’t need to play a frontline role unless the Air Force already has air superiority/dominance over a given area. It’s there to sit in the back and be a missile truck for the F-35, and anything else stealth/surveillance that can provide it with targeting information. It doesn’t need to be stealthy.
16:30 I would like to propose why this defense expert is wrong. The idea is that the air frame itself has to be stealth. Look into the reaper proposed pod, and what it can do. Electronic warfare, isn't just about jamming, current American technology can in fact create spoofing, and more interestingly in the case of this aircraft, target multiple radars trying to find it, and make it look like it is not there. This is essentially by creating an equal but opposite frequency signal that cancels out that which is trying to find the weapon system. As such, it might be possible to create F-15 EX that are in fact stealth
Sandboxx published a video yesterday about a pod that is under development that can be mounted on an MQ9 that can turn a non stealth aircraft into a stealth one. Coupling the Eagle II with that pod may be a game changer.
Pretty sure these pods are already used in Europe by Gripens.
@@TheBoobanI hope so. What Sandboxx was talking about was supposed to, I'm sure this is more than a bit of hyperbole, turn any aircraft into a flying black hole. The idea we could swell forces with 4th gen fighters, armed with the new AIM 174 and coupled with drone wingmen, could allow the civilized world to defend in depth.
I saw that video (and just posted about it in another comment). If it works, that would make the F-15EX the most frightening aircraft on the planet.
@@mikeharvey9184even scarier in combination. While stealth fighter’s presence can be detected, imagine trying to find stealth air craft with several F15EXs making all that noise with these pods-literally impossible!
I'm going to hazard a guess that it not only identifies and locates any radar hitting it, but that it also does enough signal processing to do phase cancellation while also regarding any potential polarization and doppler shift? That would be a bit of kit.
They sound incredible! we received 1 a few weeks ago here at PDX and it took off in the #2 slot of 4.... They look great but sound even better!
Another issue is that Lockheed has already maxed out their production lines making F-35s. There's only so many F-35s that can be made per year. So another plane needs to make up the difference. That's the F-15EX. Not every battle needs stealth either
I worked on F-15 A,B,C and D models at Nelllis AFB as an environmental control systems tech cross trained into crew chief. It was the most sierra hotel aircraft in the world then and with the introduction of the EX it will STILL be the most sierra hotel aircraft in the world.
The greatest fighter design of all time. Can perform all missions, in all weather, day and night. Robust airframe, powerful engines, great turning radius, high service ceiling, fastest fighter, and payload capacity is unrivaled. The only thing it can’t do is land on a carrier and do VTOL. The F14 Tomcat fans will say that this exception is what makes the F14 the greatest ever, but the F14 also lacks the F15‘s combat resume, can’t perform ground attack, doesn’t have the same payload or speed, and can’t best it in any other category except with its cool variable sweep wing which turns it into a delta wing interceptor.
The F14 did have the AIM-54 Pheonix (spelling?) for fleet defense.
The F14 absolutely could handle ground attack/strike missions and was used in that role back in the 90's. Don't forget, the Tomcat had a LANTIRN targeting system, further enhancing it's precision strike capability
@@davidlium9338yeah but the Phoenix wasn't very accurate unless it was shot at a bomber or some other type of larger plane. It's kill ratio against fighter jets was pretty bad lol
The cool thing about the f15 is its thrust to weight ratio is 1 to 1.5. Which means it can go up until it runs out of oxygen and once flying can fly missing its wings. Although only one wing has been missing in a fire fight and returned. Yes an f15 has lost a wing and flown home.
Great video. Not sure it needs to be a two seater, but glad to see the F-15 get a second life.
F-15 go vroom
God I love America.
I've been excited about this fighter for a while. Thanks for the video
The F-15 will be remembered as the greatest fighter ever built. Its more rocket than jet, it can carry its weight in ordinance and its thrust to weight and lift to drag ratios are both greater than 1 so it could fly without wings. It’s already happened in like 96. Feel free to google because I’ve already been called a liar. Lol
Complaining about stealth falling to understand that it's not meant to hide. It's meant to be feared
deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy … the fear to attack
Good script, Good presentation, Good job Simon! Thank you, sir, Keep it up!
Great work! Really enjoy your videos.
thanks President Trump 🇺🇲
I worked on some of these F15s in this video! It's so cool to finally see the Eagle in the limelight on Megaprojects! The best fighter ever!
Nice take on this aircraft. Sounds like a win win to me. Mahalo for sharing
Stealth is horrifically expensive and not every mission requires it. In fact, in wartime, most wouldn't. Stealth would be used to take out threats to the non-stealth aircraft and be followed by large numbers of them establishing air dominance.
From 2007-2009 I was stationed at Lakenheath AFB. While there I loaded munitions and maintained the weapons systems on F-15E Strike Eagle.
A certain red, (off)white, and blue F-15 will be very happy to hear this
Love that Keeps sponsors your channel. That's some brilliant counter-intuitive marketing!
exactly as I have read in the comments below...It's another finger to the whole hand....not the complete fist. But to me, the F-15EX is like that middle finger of the fist, whereas the F-35 is the pointer finger, and the F-22 is the thumb
I was at Luke AFB when they first brought the F-15s there. Amazing fighter!
Oh Simon.. You absolute f*&king bald LEGEND! Love your stuff!
Your best and most relevant video to date.
😂 love it how Simon is peddling Keeps so that less man join our bald master race 😂
Ever since I was a kid I was enamored by the F-15. Last year I saw an F-22 doing aerial maneuvers and I was absolutely blown away by its capabilities. I went home and started Googling the F-22 to learn more. That's how I learned they F-15EX was coming out and I quickly forgot about the F-22. Hello my old friend
I love how Keeps continues to sponsor Simon’s channels.
I think the F15 Eagle is becoming like the B52 bomber. It's a perfect platform to do the day to day work of air superiority.
It will do the grunt work, kept safe from by specialized work of F22s and F35s and other state of the art super expensive systems.
I'm really impressed with the potential. The world has very few generation 5 planes. The F15 EX is going to be superior to 97% of the world's fighter aircraft.
I can see it getting a lot of use as a super fast, super maneuverable light bomber. The amount of punch and the level of performance is brilliant.
The new F-15: "Yea you can see me, I don't care. I dare you to try and do something about it." That alone is terrifying
Lack of stealth isn't really an issue when it comes to resolving the biggest problem the EX is needed for- training. In order to train the next few generations of pilots, the Air Force needed a platform that had all the modern bells and whistles, but didn't cost an arm and a leg like Gen 5 fighters.
Even if it does go to war, it's not going to replace the F35, so for stealthy missions they can go in and take out radar and A-A defenses, leaving the way open for the EX to do workhorse sorties or defend airspace.
15:55 The Eagle II does have a radar-absorbent coating to help reduce RCS.
70 percent of the Eagle II contains the original design.
McDonnell Douglas hit a home run with this plane.
20:41 Somebody has been playing Ace Combat 7. 😂
A guy I work with was once a crew chief for a base that flew f15s and the heaviest he’s ever gotten one up was 96,000lbs. Idk how he did that but color me impressed.
6:10 "A hydridized approach to Air Superiority" Wait, you mean every Aircraft doesn't have to be the absolute best and cost the most dollars? Like every soldier isn't a Green Beret? SHOCKING!
USAF should truncate the F-35A buy at 1,200 and buy 500 F-15EX. That's plenty of stealth fighters, and doesn't even include the USN, USMC and NATO totals. The EX is an absolute monster and along wirh the F-35, greatly complicates China's kill chain.
Good to have a back up plan for when all the stealth aircraft are gone or waiting to be fixed