American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter, prominent during Cold War, deployed extensively in Middle East conflicts. Key figures: top speed 2,655 km/h, range 3,971 km, service ceiling 19,812 m, max takeoff weight 30,844 kg, unit price $29M, built 1,198. In service with 3 air forces as of 2026 — Japan (199), Israel (41), Saudi Arabia (21).
| Crew | 1 |
| Length | 19.4 m (63.7 ft) |
| Wingspan | 13.1 m (42.8 ft) |
| Height | 5.6 m (18.5 ft) |
| Wing area | 56.5 m² (608.2 sqft) |
| Empty weight | 12,701 kg (28,001 lbs) |
| Max. takeoff weight | 30,844 kg (67,999 lbs) |
| Powerplant | 2 × turbofans Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 10,782 kgf each |
| Ejection seat | McDonnell Douglas ACES II |
| Maximum speed | 2655 km/h (Mach 2.65) |
| Operational range | 3,971 km (2,467 mi) |
| Service ceiling | 19,812 m (65,000 ft) |
| Climb rate | 254.0 m/s (833.3 ft/s) |
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas, now part of Boeing. Selected by the United States Air Force in 1969, it first flew in July 1972 and entered service in 1976, replacing the F-4 Phantom II as the principal air superiority fighter of the USAF and several allies. It holds a combined air-to-air record of 104 kills and no losses.
The F-X requirement emerged in 1965 from studies prompted by USAF dissatisfaction with the TFX (F-111) and by combat results over Vietnam, where highly loaded missile-armed aircraft such as the F-4 proved vulnerable to MiG-21s in visual-range engagements. The appearance of the MiG-25 at Domodedovo in 1967 pushed the requirement toward a dedicated air superiority design. A request for proposals was issued in September 1968 calling for a single-seat, twin-engine fighter of 40,000 lb maximum take-off weight, Mach 2.5 top speed and a thrust-to-weight ratio near 1:1. Fairchild Republic, North American Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas received definition contracts in December 1968; McDonnell Douglas was selected on 23 December 1969. The first F-15A flew on 27 July 1972 and the two-seat F-15B in July 1973. Twelve prototypes were built. The F-15C and D entered production in 1978 with the Production Eagle Package (PEP 2000), adding 2,000 lb of internal fuel and conformal fuel tank provisions. The Multistage Improvement Program began in February 1983. Production totals were 384 F-15A, 61 F-15B, 483 F-15C and 92 F-15D.
The F-15 has an all-metal semi-monocoque fuselage with a shoulder-mounted cropped-delta wing swept 45° at the leading edge, without leading-edge maneuvering flaps. The empennage uses aluminium alloy/composite honeycomb fins with boron-composite skin and all-moving horizontal tails with dogtooth notches. The airframe is 37.3% aluminium, 29.2% honeycomb, 25.8% titanium, 5.5% steel and 2% composites. Two Pratt & Whitney F100 afterburning turbofans are fed by rectangular inlets with variable ramps. Avionics include a head-up display, AN/ASN-109 inertial guidance, IFF and the Tactical Electronic Warfare System. The APG-63 pulse-Doppler radar has a basic range of 160 km with look-down/shoot-down capability; later fits include the APG-70, APG-63(V)1 and the AESA APG-63(V)2/(V)3.
Armament comprises an internal 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon with 940 rounds in the right wing root, four fuselage stations for semi-recessed AIM-7 Sparrow or AIM-120 AMRAAM, two underwing pylons with twin launch rails, and a centreline station. Typical loads are four AIM-7 and four AIM-9, or eight AIM-120. External capacity is 16,000 lb, with up to three 600-US-gallon drop tanks; conformal fuel tanks hold 750 US gallons each and can mount Sparrow or AMRAAM at their corners.
The first F-15B was delivered on 13 November 1974, with the 555th TFS receiving combat aircraft in January 1976. Israeli F-15s scored the type's first kill in 1979, downed 41 Syrian aircraft in the 1982 Lebanon War, and struck PLO headquarters in Tunis during Operation Wooden Leg in October 1985. USAF F-15Cs claimed 34 Iraqi aircraft in the 1991 Gulf War and four Yugoslav MiG-29s in 1999. Saudi F-15Cs downed two Iranian F-4Es in 1984 and two Iraqi Mirage F1s in 1991. Export operators include Israel, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The F-15A was retired in September 2009; the last USAF active-duty F-15C flight took place on 24 January 2025.
The US Air Force awarded Boeing a $131.2 billion ceiling IDIQ contract on 24 August 2026 for F-15 production, upgrades and sustainment through 2037, with foreign military sales to Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Poland.
Fifty years after the first operational F-15A arrived at Langley Air Force Base on January 9, 1976, the Eagle remains in frontline service with six air forces and in production as the F-15EX Eagle II.
