Article Summary: The F-15I Ra’am is Israel’s custom-crafted variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle, offering unmatched range, firepower, and precision strike capabilities. With a 2,765-mile range, Mach 2.5 speed, and 29,000 pounds of thrust per engine, it dominates airspace while carrying advanced avionics and weaponry.
Key Point #1 – The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has deployed the Ra’am in key operations, including Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, striking enemy command centers and weapons depots.
Key Point #2 – With a 104-0 combat record, the F-15 remains one of the most lethal aircraft in history.
F-15I Ra’am: Israel’s Ultimate Strike Eagle Ready for Battle
The Israeli Air Force uses the F-15I Ra’am, or “Thunder”—its own custom variant of the American F-15E Strike Eagle.
A dual-role, long-range fighter-interceptor and attack aircraft, the plane entered service in January 1998. It is the IAF’s workhorse aircraft.
The Ra’am was designed specifically for Israel by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). Its tremendous payload capacity and advanced systems enable it to carry out airstrikes with a large weapons load at long ranges and low altitudes, at all hours of the day and night, and in any weather conditions.
Meet Israel’s Variant Of the F-15 Strike Eagle
The F-15I Ra’am has excellent range (2,765 miles without aerial refueling). It can fly much farther than the F-35 or F-16. It can carry 18,000 pounds of fuel and munitions.
The F-15I’s enhancements make the Israeli Air Force highly effective against ground targets and enemies hiding in tunnels. The F-15 has two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 afterburning turbofan engines, each producing 29,000 pounds of thrust. These engines can push the aircraft to Mach 2.5, or 1,918 miles per hour. The aircraft has a ceiling of 60,000 feet.
The Ra’am’s avionics include the Hughes APG-70 synthetic aperture radar, the Kaiser holographic head-up display system, and an Elbit display and sight helmet system.
The aircraft is also armed with various precision weapons, including Sidewinder and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
F-15I Unmatched In Combat
Phil Condit, former chairman and chief executive officer of Boeing, said, “From a purely technological standpoint, the F-15I is a masterpiece. It will provide the qualitative edge Israel requires to preserve peace. Israeli engineers and suppliers played a significant role in the production of this airplane.
That fact is meaningful not just from a technology standpoint but as a matter of pride.”
The F-15 has 104 air-to-air combat victories, and no F-15 has ever been shot down in aerial combat. A 104-0 record is hard to beat. The newer F-22 and F-35 aircraft are great planes, but the F-15 deserves its reputation.
The Israeli Air Force has used the F-15I in all of its conflicts, including operations in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. Its extended range allows it to reach targets deep within adversary territories, aligning with Israel’s strategic defense doctrines.
The F-15I was used in Lebanon during Operation New Order, where eight Ra’ams dropped 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition “bunker buster” bombs that penetrated deep into the ground to destroy Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s command-and-control center in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
It took several of the specialty bombs to eliminate Nasrallah and several of his top lieutenants.
F-15Is of the IAF have decimated Syrian forces and Iranian proxies’ weapons depots outside Damascus since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011.
These strikes blew up missile and rocket factories and warehouses, as well as anti-aircraft sites.
IAF Brig. Gen. Moshe Marom-Melnik recalled that every enemy aircraft that attacked his forces in Lebanon was shot down: “We kept the Syrians from flying in Lebanon, and did it in the best possible fashion. Every flight of Syrian planes that tried to cross the lines and attack our forces in Lebanon was shot down. Sometimes a single plane out of the flight escaped and told the others the story of what had happened. We had a field day, basically, shooting down practically everything that flew. The MiG-21 and MiG-23, which formed the backbone of the Syrian air force, were crushed. As far as our squadron was concerned, the war was more like a shooting range.”
F-15 Ra’am: A Story in Pictures
F-15I Ra’am Israeli Air Force.
F-15I
F-15I. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Image: Creative Commons. Image is of a F-15I.
F-15I. Image: Creative Commons.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
