Israel has become one of the few countries around the world whose air forces possess the stealthy fifth-generation F-35 fighters, in addition to the F-15S, which is still one of the most dangerous war fighters in the world.
The “National Interest” magazine says that the Israeli “F-15S” fighters are considered one of the most dangerous fighters in the world for decades, adding: “Thanks to Israeli updates, that aircraft will maintain its position for decades to come”.
The “National Interest” continued: “The F-15 fighters are among the war planes that have been associated with Israel for decades.
The first aircraft arrived in Israel in 1976, and since then it has not lost a single battle.
In 1998, Israel revealed the development of a new version of the aircraft designed to be able to carry out air engagement and ground attack missions.
The version called “Thunder” has become a long-range attack aircraft that will complement the work of the American “F-35” stealth fighters, which Israel recently acquired and is seeking to own about 50 of them.
The original version of the American “Boeing” fighter “F-15” was an air engagement plane armed with air-to-air weapons.
The twin-engine, single-seat plane had an excellent “APG-63” radar, and its armament included 4 “AIM-7” missiles, known as “Sparrow”, which is a radar-guided missile, and 4 “AIM-9” Sidewinder, a guided missile. Infrared, in addition to the “M-61” machine gun.
Thanks to the plane’s large size, it became possible to develop it as a ground attack aircraft carrying a diverse arsenal of anti-ground weapons, aided by the twin engines that give it a tremendous thrust.
The F-15E version was developed, which entered service in the US Army in 1989 and participated in the Gulf War in 1991.
After Israel was subjected to a missile attack from Iraq during the era of former President Saddam Hussein, the journey began to convince Washington of the importance of obtaining the new version of the “F-15E” aircraft, which is the version that can carry out ground attacks and engage enemy fighters in air battles.
Israel got that plane to be a long arm that would enable it to deter threats to it from Iraq and Iran during that period.
During the period of operation of that plane in Israel, it had sufficient knowledge of that plane, some of whose components were locally developed, such as the plane’s mainframe, communication systems, pilot’s helmet and Israeli electronic warfare systems.
The Boeing Company’s website listed the specifications of the F-15 aircraft, which it has been manufacturing since the seventies of the last century, indicating that it possesses high maneuverability and working capabilities in all skies.
The plane’s speed exceeds Mach 2.5 (2575 km / h), or 2.5 times the speed of sound.
The aircraft carries a 20 mm cannon, in addition to 8 medium-range “air-to-air” missiles for clashing in air battles, in addition to a variety of precision-guided bombs for use against ground targets.
The American How Stuff Working website stated that there are different models of the “F-15” aircraft, the oldest of which is the “A” version that was produced in 1972, and it is a single-seat plane whose main mission was as a fighter plane that was later developed into the “B” version in which the two complexes are located.
A pilot, then the “C” version, which is a fighter with a more powerful engine and a larger fuel tank than the first “A” version.
The “D” prince is used in the two seats of a pilot in training operations, as it allows the presence of a professional pilot and a trained pilot in its two seats.
The plane is 19.45 meters long, 5.65 meters wide, and the wingspan is 13.05 meters.
The warplane is powered by two engines and weighs 36.7 tons at takeoff.
