What You Need to Know: The F-15EX Eagle II, an upgraded version of the legendary F-15, remains a formidable fighter despite its lack of stealth.
-Boasting an impressive thrust-to-weight ratio and a combat record of over 100 victories and zero losses, the F-15EX has received significant upgrades, including AESA radar, advanced avionics, and the powerful Advanced Display Core Processor II computer.
-While its vulnerability to advanced air defenses is a concern, the F-15EX can still play a crucial role in modern warfare, supporting stealth aircraft and providing air-to-ground strike capabilities.
-Its upgraded systems, including the Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System and Infrared Search and Track, enhance its survivability and effectiveness.
F-15EX vs. Advanced Air Defenses: Can This Fighter Survive Modern Threats?
The F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft is reported to operate with one of the most superior thrust-to-weight ratios in the world, and the aircraft has an exemplary combat record going back decades.
The F-15 has become famous for achieving 100 or more combat victories without a single aerial combat loss. This statistic generates significant attention worldwide and explains why the 1980s aircraft remains in service.
The F-15’s thrust-to-weight ratio may help explain its unparalleled air-war success. An interesting compilation from World Defense lists the F-15 as having a 1.29 thrust-to-weight ratio, right next to the Russian Su-35 at 1.30.
The F-22, however, when outfitted with “round nozzles,” can hit a 1.37 thrust-to-weight ratio, according to the assessment.
Massive F-15 Upgrades
Of tremendous significance, however, is the fact that upgrades have fully transformed the F-15 from a Cold War 4th-generation fighter into a 4th-gen “plus” aircraft in position to prove quite relevant in a modern battlefield.
The F-15, particularly the F-15EX, has received massive upgrades to include Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar, which is also on the F-35 and upgraded F-16.
The F-15 has also received new electronics, avionics, weapons, fire control, and, perhaps most importantly, an advanced high-speed computer.
Several years back, the F-15 was engineered with the Advanced Display Core Processor II, a high-speed computer.
Boeing and US Air Force weapons developers explained the computer as being capable of performing billions of functions per second.
A significant US Air Force essay from 2016 catalogs the first flight of the ADCP II on an F-15.
“The ADCP II high-speed processing and interface designs enable advanced systems integration, increased mission effectiveness, augmented fault-tolerance, enhanced system stability and aircrew survivability,” the Air Force essay explains.
According to the US Air Force, the most critical element of the computer upgrade is that the new computer will support ongoing aircraft upgrades that dramatically improve performance capacity and allow for continued software enhancements. The ADCP II supports the Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System and the well-known and highly impactful Infrared Search and Track Systems (IRST). These technologies greatly enhance the ability of the aircraft to operate in a high-threat electronic warfare (EW ) “Jamming” environment. IRST is also integrated into the US Navy’s F/A-18 and is credited with greatly improving targeting precision range and accuracy
Lack of Stealth
An F-15 liability, one might say, is its lack of stealth. With Russian media reporting that its S-400 and S-500 advanced air defenses can track and hit stealth aircraft, a claim which has yet to be proven, the F-15 may be vulnerable in a high-end fight against an advanced adversary.
Chinese air defenses are also likely to present various threat scenarios for the F-15, as a report from DW says upgraded Chinese HQ-9 air defenses can now hit ranges of 239km.
For this reason, some have suggested that more significant numbers of F-22s and F-35s replace the F-15s. However, evidence indicates that upgraded F-15s should remain a key part of the fleet.
There is still a place within air combat for an advanced 4th-generation aircraft to support a significant warfare campaign. An F-15 could follow through a safer “air corridor” created by stealth aircraft that have destroyed enemy air defenses. In this capacity, it could deliver ordnance, conduct air-to-ground strikes, and engage any possible enemy 4th-gen aircraft as well.
Finally, there are likely many scenarios in which a US Air Force 4th-generation fighter could demonstrate tremendous air utility in an air war.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is the Military Technology Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
