Photo: USAF
The F-15 is both one of the oldest and one of the most successful fighter aircraft ever made. Built starting from 1976 as the Eagle and from 1988 as the Strike Eagle, the McDonnell Douglas machine flies in service of several countries around the world.
The most recent F-15, the Strike Eagle, is presently deployed by the U.S. (naturally), Israel, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. One other nation, Qatar, just started receiving its own planes back in June, and just like all the others, its version wears a special name.
F-15QA, or F-15 Qatar Advanced, is how these planes are called, and America just started delivering the first in a batch of 72 such machines ordered by the Arab Peninsula country.
Work on these planes, slightly modified from the other versions (they come with things like an Elbit Systems anti-jamming tech), started in early 2020, and now, one year later, some of these planes are already heading to their new home.
The one you’re looking at is one of the F-15QAs that are ready for duty. The pic (click main photo to enlarge), which was taken back in June by Tech. Sgt. Lauren Kelly and released last week by the U.S. Air Force, shows it not over Qatar, but still at home in the U.S.
The plane, operating out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, was on a refueling mission over the Tinker Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. A perfect shot, we’d say, for our Photo of the Day section.
We are not being told exactly what changes the F-15QA boasts compared to the American version, but generally the F-15 can reach speeds of over Mach 2.5. It can fly for up to 1,381 miles (2,222 km) as high as 60,000 feet (18.2 km). It can also carry an assortment of weapons.
F-15QA, or F-15 Qatar Advanced, is how these planes are called, and America just started delivering the first in a batch of 72 such machines ordered by the Arab Peninsula country.
Work on these planes, slightly modified from the other versions (they come with things like an Elbit Systems anti-jamming tech), started in early 2020, and now, one year later, some of these planes are already heading to their new home.
The one you’re looking at is one of the F-15QAs that are ready for duty. The pic (click main photo to enlarge), which was taken back in June by Tech. Sgt. Lauren Kelly and released last week by the U.S. Air Force, shows it not over Qatar, but still at home in the U.S.
The plane, operating out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, was on a refueling mission over the Tinker Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. A perfect shot, we’d say, for our Photo of the Day section.
We are not being told exactly what changes the F-15QA boasts compared to the American version, but generally the F-15 can reach speeds of over Mach 2.5. It can fly for up to 1,381 miles (2,222 km) as high as 60,000 feet (18.2 km). It can also carry an assortment of weapons.
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