The successful upgrades to the United States Air Force F-15 might lead many to retroactively wish the Navy stayed the course with its carrier-launched F-15N Sea Eagle plan years ago, as it might still be in a position to complement the F/A-18 and F-35C on a modern Carrier Air Wing.
However, reports documenting history explain that, although the F-15N showed promising capabilities, it proved incompatible with the Navy’s highly valued AIM-54 Phoenix missile, according to an interesting essay in The National Interest.
A Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15 (F-15DJ) in flight, as viewed from the boom operator position of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, Kadena Air Base, after being refueled during air refueling training July 30, 2009.
Therefore, the Navy prioritized the high-performing F-14 Tomcat, as it could be configured with the AIM-54.
There are many lingering questions that can be posed decades beyond key decisions and developments about the F-15N, as they are afforded the advantage of time and perspective. For example, the F-14 Tomcat was nearly as fast as the F-22, so some wonder if the two-person crew carrier-launched air fighter was retired far too soon.
Challenged Carrier Air Wing
Perhaps budget constraints at the time and a need to streamline production capacity required that the Navy continue with only one of the two carrier-launched aircraft options.
Looking back decades, it may appear that the Navy would have best been served by continuing both the F-15N and the Tomcat.
Why? Both aircraft introduce unique and arguably unprecedented advantages. While the F/A-18 has benefitted from years of upgrades and Service Life Extension Programs (SLEP), it would have been nicely fortified by a continued F-14 Tomcat and Navy F-15N Sea Eagle variant.
The two aircraft and the F/A-18 would have complemented one another to complete an unrivaled integrated Carrier Air Wing capacity. Each aircraft would have brought something the others did not.
High Speed F-14 & F-15
Both the F-14 Tomcat and F-15N would have brought massive combined speed, which has shown to be a great advantage in an air war. The F-14 could travel at Mach 2.25, and the F-15 is cited by some specs as capable of an unmatched Mach 2.4, placing these two aircraft among the fastest fighter jets ever to exist.
The F-14 brought the advantage of a Naval aviator, trained airmen prepared to support the pilot with awareness, targeting, and navigational detail. A second set of eyes brought an additional human perspective to air combat in conducting air attacks and establishing air superiority.
F-15EX. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force.
The F-15N could have brought unprecedented speeds comparable to an F-14 yet in a single-seat configuration and introduced paradigm-changing kinds of radar detection, weaponry, and computing.
One needs to look at the numerous upgrades woven into the 4th-gen merely “plus” F-15EX and its F-15E Strike Eagle counterpart to understand that critical upgrades could have similarly improved a Navy F-15N Sea Eagle, should it have existed.
Computer 87 Billion Functions Per Second
In recent years, the F-15 has received an F-35-like Active Electronically Scanned Array radar capable of tracking numerous targets at one time, new weapons applications, and a paradigm-changing new generation of computing.
In recent years, the US Air Force F-15E has received a computer called the Advanced Display Core Processor, or ADCPII, a system capable of performing as many as 87 billion instructions per second.
This processing speed would change targeting and attack speed exponentially, enabling the fighter to operate inside an enemy’s decision cycle.
The F-15 has also received a cutting-edge targeting sensor called Infrared Search and Track (IRST), a technology that improves infrared and heat signature targeting and also positions the aircraft to operate successfully in an EW “jamming” type of environment.
The F-15EX Eagle II, the Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft, arrives to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida March 11. The aircraft will be the first Air Force aircraft to be tested and fielded from beginning to end through combined developmental and operational tests. The 40th Flight Test Squadron and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron personnel are responsible for testing the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Karissa Rodriguez)
For example, the F-15 Eagle’s Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) has been capable of conducting both active and passive electronic warfare (EW) for several years in support of combat missions at unprecedented speeds.
While listed as only reaching speeds of roughly Mach 1.6, the F-35 has found unprecedented value in drone-like sensing, stand-off attacking, and integrated computing.
The F-15 configuration is not exactly stealthy, particularly when hardpoints or weapons pylons are considered, yet it is famous for having a perfect air-combat record of more than 100 kills with zero losses.
These F-15 upgrades could have equally been applied to an F-15N Sea Eagle and fortified the Carrier Air Wing for decades.
Such a move could have proven very critical during those critical transition years when F-14 Tomcats had been retired, the Navy did not have enough F/A-18s, and the F-35C had not yet arrived in sufficient numbers.
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.
