Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) / Atlantia Aeronautic Engineering (AAC) FA-15 Eagle
Variants and Sub Variants:
F-15A/B Hawk Eagle
FA-15C/D Hawk Eagle
- F-15D1 (1979-1993)
- FA-15D2 (1993-2007)
- FA-15D3 (2007-)
FA-15F Golden Eagle
F/FA-15N Sea Eagle
- F-15N1 (1976-1980)
- FA-15N2 (1980-1993)
- FA-15N3 (1993-2007)
- FA-15N4 (2007-)
- FA-15N5 (2011-)
FA-15S Black Eagle
- FA-15S1 (1993-2008)
- FA-15S2 (2008-)
Illustrations:
I'm not sure how to illustrate the larger of the wings on the design so for the sake of continuity I'm leaving them be...
Something to aid illustration of the F-15 evolution that will take place over the years from 1976 until now. From left to right there are three wingforms, the first is the standard F-15 profile which is what would have been fitted upon delivery. They would have flown with this until the mid eighties wherein they would receive enlarged outer wing sections (a la F-15X) which would give an increase of wing area to 680ft^2 from 600ft^2. The new wing section also has hardpoints for AAMs and EW pods up to 500kg in weight. The outer wing hardpoints were also revised increasing carriage capacity to 750kg from 500. The final wingform is that as was developed for the F-15U and U+ originally intended for export to UAE and then as a complement or supplement to the F-22. IT comes in two forms not really visible at SB scale the thicker of the two wings puts a limit on the top speed of the aircraft bringing it down to Mach 1.8 where as the the thinner profiled wing puts the Mach limit around Mach 2.3. Variants fitted with this wing also received 'dogtooth' horizontal stabilizers and canted vertical stabilizers in line with the U+ and SE programs. Some history on the actual aircraft... First into service was the F-15B (not F-15B as in USAF F-15B) which unlike the USAF designated F-15B1 was a dedicated two seat fighter with Pilot and WSO much like the contemporary F-14. The F-15A which was not produced for Atlantia would have nearly identical to the F-15A in USAF service. The F-15N1 which entered service at the same time was a Carrier based variant from which the majority of future Atlantian Eagles would be derived (land based aircraft would retain some naval features such as strengthened landing gear and embedded IRS-T). The F-15B was replaced in service by the FA-15D1 which again was a dedicated two seater. The FA-15D1 introduced a modest ground attack capability in the form of unguided free-fall bombs and rocket pods. The D1 was also the first to receive the new 27mm x145 Gatling gun which replaced the interim 30mm x113 Gatling (which were carried by the NAVFOR aircraft until their fleet upgrade in 1984) From 1984 onwards both the NAVFOR and AFCOM aircraft were progressively upgraded with the extended outer wing section shown above. The aircraft survived in this forum until 1993 when both the NAVFOR and AFCOM aircraft began to be fitted with an early TVC system and newer P&W F100PW-220 engines. By this time canards were being trialled for NAVFOR aircraft to improve takeoff and landing conditions whilst operating from carriers. These began to be retrofitted from 1992 onwards but were not completely phased in until 1997 when the fleet were brought to N3 standard Both fleets remained in this state throughout actions in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iraq again. Of note with the NAVFOR aircraft is they were upgraded with CFTs for weapon and fuel carriage (a la F-15E) this brought the F-15N it's FA-15N designator in Atlantian service. The fleets (now with FA-15S - S for strike) amongst their ranks were left reasonably untouched except for two attrition losses in Iraq in 2003 and one accidental loss in Atlantia. From 2007 onwards all aircraft were upgraded to D3 S2 and N4 standards respectively. This standard includes a new model of IRS-T as well as embedded FLIR in the port inboard wing pylon. LANTIRN has been replaced by these systems as well as a new AESA radar which includes TF modes and Sniper XR targeting pods. P&W F100-PW232 engines with a new 3DTVC nozzle replace the previous PW220 engines. As of 2010 progress was well under way on an advanced Eagle family simply called Eagle21 at AAe. In mid 2011 the first prototypes took to the air 2X-ZZAB and 2X-ZZAC represent what will be the pinnacle of the F-15 design over the past decades (at least in Atlantian service). The FA-15F and FA-15S2 will feature the third illustrated wing arrangement including the canted tail fins and possibly in-line canards if the gun can be suitably re located or the canards can be unobtrusively attached. They will feature PW232 engines like the previous models. Where possible weight savings will be made by the use of Al-Li alloys and carbon composites. Both the F and S2 will be capable of utilizing CFTs configured for internal carriage of weapons as well as under-wing combination tanks and weapon carriers. The crew will be faced with a new station with large touch screen MFDs and HMDs instead of HUDs for the pilot. Both types will retain dual controls.
The FA-15N5 will be the NAVFOR equivalent of this final upgrade with the exception of the wingform. The N5 will retain the previous wing albeit with some alterations in construction processes.
I'll probably upload specifications too once I've managed to actually calculate them. Other than that feel free to sneer, regards - Mark.