ponedjeljak, 22. ožujka 2010.

F-15 Eagle

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories. Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Forceselected McDonnell Douglas' design in 1967 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. The F-15 is expected to be in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025.

Since the 1970s, the Eagle has also been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Despite originally being envisaged as a pure air superiority aircraft, the design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed, and entered service in 1989.

Following studies in 1964-1965, the U.S. Air Force developed requirements for an air superiority fighter in October 1965. Then on 8 December 1965, the Air Force issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the new fighter. The request called for both air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. Eight companies responded with proposals. In the following study phase, four of these companies developed some 500 design concepts. Typical designs featured variable-sweep wings, weighed over 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), included a top speed of Mach 2.7 and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.75. The designs were not accepted by the Air Force as they compromised fighter qualities for ground attack qualities. Acceptance of the Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) theory by the Air Force led to a change in requirements for improved maneuverability by the spring 1967. The design mission weight was reduced to 40,000 lb (18,100 kg), top speed reduced to Mach 2.3-2.5 and thrust-to-weight ratio increased to 0.97.

In 1967 U.S. intelligence was surprised to find that the Soviet Union was building a large fighter aircraft, the MiG-25 'Foxbat'. It was not known in the West at the time that the MiG-25 was designed as a high-speed interceptor, not an air superiority fighter, so its primary asset was speed, not maneuverability. The MiG-25's huge tailplanes and vertical stabilizers (tail fins) hinted at a very maneuverable aircraft, which worried the Air Force that its performance might be better than its U.S. counterparts. In reality, the MiG's large fins and stabilators were necessary to prevent the aircraft from encountering inertia coupling in high-speed, high-altitude flight.

The F-15 has an all-metal semi-monocoque fuselage with a large cantilever shoulder-mounted wing. The empennage is all-metal twin fins and rudders with all-moving composite horizontal tail surfaces outboard of the fins. The F-15 has a spine-mounted air brake and retractable tricycle landing gear. It is powered by two Pratt & WhitneyF100 axial-flow turbofan engines with afterburners mounted side-by-side in the fuselage. The cockpit is mounted high in the forward fuselage with a one-piece windscreen and large canopy to increase visibility.

The F-15's maneuverability is derived from low wing loading (weight to wing area ratio) with a high thrust-to-weight ratio enabling the aircraft to turn tightly without losing airspeed. The F-15 can climb to 30,000 ft (10,000 m) in around 60 seconds. The thrust output of the dual engines is greater than the aircraft's weight, thus giving it the ability to accelerate in a vertical climb. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so that one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. The A and C-models are single-seat variants that make up the bulk of F-15 production. B and D-models add a second seat behind the pilot for training. E-models use the second seat for a bombardier/navigator.

A multi-mission avionics system includes a head-up display (HUD), advanced radar, inertial guidance system (INS), flight instruments, ultra high frequency (UHF) communications, and Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) and Instrument Landing System (ILS) receivers. It also has an internally mounted, tactical electronic-warfare system,identification, friend or foe (IFF) system, electronic countermeasures suite and a central digital computer.

The head-up display projects, through a combiner, all essential flight information gathered by the integrated avionics system. This display, visible in any light condition, provides the pilot information necessary to track and destroy an enemy aircraft without having to look down at cockpit instruments.

A variety of air-to-air weaponry can be carried by the F-15. An automated weapon system enables the pilot to perform aerial combat safely and effectively, using the head-up display and the avionics and weapons controls located on the engine throttles or control stick. When the pilot changes from one weapon system to another, visual guidance for the required weapon automatically appears on the head-up.

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. The rear cockpit is upgraded to include four multi-purpose CRT displays for aircraft systems and weapons management. The digital, triple-redundantLear Siegler flight control system permits coupled automatic terrain following, enhanced by a ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system.














Specifications (F-15C Eagle)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
  • Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m)
  • Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.63 m)
  • Wing area: 608 ft² (56.5 m²)
  • Airfoil: NACA 64A006.6 root, NACA 64A203 tip
  • Empty weight: 28,000 lb (12,700 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 44,500 lb (20,200 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 68,000 lb (30,845 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney F100-100, -220 or -229 afterburning turbofans
    • Dry thrust: 17,450 lbf (77.62 kN) each
    • Thrust with afterburner: 25,000 lbf for -220; 29,000 lbf for -229 (111.2 kN for -220; 129.0 kN for -229) each

Performance

Armament

Avionics

  • Radar:
    • Raytheon AN/APG-63 or AN/APG-70 or
      • Although several F-15C aircraft were produced with APG-70 radar, all have been retrofitted to the AN/APG-63(V)1 configuration
    • Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)1 or
    • Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)2 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) or
    • Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
      • Both active AF and ANG F-15Cs will receive another (up to) 48 V3 units between 2009-2015, over the existing 19 aircraft.
  • Countermeasures:
    • AN/APX-76 or AN/APX-119 Identify Friend/Foe (IFF) interrogator
    • Magnavox AN/ALQ-128 Electronic Warfare Warning Set (EWWS) -part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
    • Loral AN/ALR-56 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)-part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
    • Northrop ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures System (ICS) - part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
    • AN/ALE-45 chaff/flare dispensers

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