The F-15 is considered one of the most successful fighter aircraft of the US Air Force and was a witness to many major campaigns that Washington launched in the Middle East in the 1990s. When Iran launched hundreds of aircraft, UAVs and missiles aimed at Israel in April, US and Israeli F-15s were also deployed to intercept.

In the US Air Force, the F-22 “Raptor” is said to be the best air combat fighter, the F-16 has the largest number, the fighter nicknamed “War Eagle” F-15 is “most balanced” aircraft in terms of quantity, combat capability and cost.

One of the F-15’s notable achievements is that it has never lost in an air battle, while taking down about 103 enemy aircraft, according to the fighter analysis site MiGFlug (Switzerland).

However, the US Air Force last year proposed that Congress eliminate 119 F-15Es in the next 5 years, leaving only 99 in service, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. Observers were surprised by this proposal, because the Pentagon is also struggling to maintain the minimum number of fighter aircraft at 1,900.

Symbol of perseverance

The first F-15s flew in 1972 and entered service with the US Air Force four years later. In a commentary published on The Telegraph on May 17, American military reporter David Ax said that in a conflict scenario, the F-15 will be the vanguard squadron, as this 16-ton fighter flies quickly. than other US fighter aircraft, can carry more types of ammunition, as well as have upgraded radar and jamming systems.

The design of the F-15 uses entirely metal materials. Having a light weight and two high-thrust engines helps the fighter to make sharp turns without losing speed. Aircraft equipped with radar can identify targets moving close to the ground without interference from external environments. The F-15 can reach an altitude of 9,100 m in 60 seconds and fly more than 5,500 km without refueling, according to aviation website AeroTime .

The durability of the F-15 was once proven when an Israeli pilot in 1983 safely landed a fighter that lost a wing after a mid-air collision. AeroTime said the “War Eagle” is also the first and only aircraft to take down a target in space, when American pilot Wilbert Pearson in 1985 flew an F-15 to shoot the Solwind P78-1 satellite. during an anti-satellite missile test.

Although the original purpose was to design for the US Air Force, MiGFlug statistics show that the Israeli Air Force is the force that has achieved more victories with the F-15, as the first target, as well as more than 50% of the targets. was shot down by an F-15, coming from an Israeli pilot.

The US Congress objected

The US Air Force’s plan is to buy the upgraded version of the F-15EX and cut down on old F-15s. The intention to keep less than 100 aircraft in service is only enough to equip about 6 squadrons, while the US force has more than 50 fighter squadrons, Mr. David Ax said.

The Air Force report indicates that this decision will help the US save $600 million per year and have enough budget to invest in 40 more F-35 stealth aircraft. But Lockheed Martin Corporation, which produces the F-35, is said to be slow in testing new fighter versions.

Air & Space Forces reported on May 14 that the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee rejected the US Air Force’s proposal to eliminate 26 F-15Es in the 2025 budget. Previously, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ) has limited the number of F-15E aircraft to be eliminated by 2029, instead of 119 as originally proposed.

The US is also gradually eliminating old, unimproved fighters, causing observers to question the Pentagon’s ability to maintain the necessary number of fighter aircraft. The US Department of Defense is planning to develop a new generation stealth aircraft to replace the F-22, which has a 25-year life cycle, but this is a story of the distant future.

There are many arguments about why the military wants to retire the F-15, one of which is the engine problem. The 119 older F-15s use the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E engine that produces 10.5 tons of thrust each, while the 99 newer ones use the F100-PW-229 version that produces 13.1 tons of thrust. ton. Basically, the new F-15s will be more powerful, but that doesn’t mean the old version is “out of date”, Mr. Ax said.

It is undeniable that the United States has the economic and technological potential to develop modern aircraft. However, military analyst Stacie Pettyjohn from the Center for a New Security in America (CNAS) used the conflict situation in Ukraine to point out the fact that quantity and cost effectiveness are equally important when considering military capacity, especially for long-term conflicts, according to Business Insider on May 17.

The first F-15EXs that the US will buy in 2021 cost $80 million each, and are considered a better cost-effective option than the F-35, according to AeroTime .