Photo: USAF/Staff Sgt. Rachel Maxwell
The F-15 family of fighter jets is one of the most successful ever to have been designed in the U.S. Initially developed by McDonnell Douglas, the machine, like all others in the military, has spawned over the years a number of variants, and close to 1,200 of them are presently in service.
The family was born in the 1970s, but the F-15E Strike Eagle variants like the ones we see in the main photo of this piece trace their roots to about a decade later. The E is the airplane’s version meant to be used in long-range operations, and it is one of the most battle-proven aircraft in the American arsenal, having been deployed in pretty much all recent wars, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Syria and Libya.
Like all others in its family, the airplane is capable of reaching speeds of more than Mach 2.5. It can fly for up to 1,381 miles (2,222 km) at altitudes as high as 60,000 feet (18.2 km), while carrying 29,500 lbs (13.3 tons) of weapons.
These weapons include precision guided munitions, all sorts of missiles and bombs, and of course cannons, for both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions.
Some of these weapons, in both their inert and live states, got to be used earlier this month during the Poseidon’s Rage exercise over the Aegean Sea. The two F-15E Strike Eagles in the main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge), deployed with the 48th Fighter Wing, were part of the said exercise, and were captured in flight by Staff Sgt. Rachel Maxwell.
The 48th Fighter Wing is the only F-15-armed one deployed in Europe by USAF, and it is stationed at the RAF Lakenheath base in the UK.
Aside from the U.S., the F-15 is presently deployed by the air forces of Japan, Israel, and South Korea, among others.
Like all others in its family, the airplane is capable of reaching speeds of more than Mach 2.5. It can fly for up to 1,381 miles (2,222 km) at altitudes as high as 60,000 feet (18.2 km), while carrying 29,500 lbs (13.3 tons) of weapons.
These weapons include precision guided munitions, all sorts of missiles and bombs, and of course cannons, for both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions.
Some of these weapons, in both their inert and live states, got to be used earlier this month during the Poseidon’s Rage exercise over the Aegean Sea. The two F-15E Strike Eagles in the main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge), deployed with the 48th Fighter Wing, were part of the said exercise, and were captured in flight by Staff Sgt. Rachel Maxwell.
The 48th Fighter Wing is the only F-15-armed one deployed in Europe by USAF, and it is stationed at the RAF Lakenheath base in the UK.
Aside from the U.S., the F-15 is presently deployed by the air forces of Japan, Israel, and South Korea, among others.
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