Recently, on July 27, 2022, the F-15 Eagle has reached 50 years of service. And as has been discussed many times, the twin engine fighter is known as an air superiority fighter with a brilliant achievement, namely by collecting a record 104 victories in aerial combat, without ever being shot down by an opponent.
With the title of battle proven, of course there are a series of interesting moments that accompany the journey of the F-15 Eagle family.
Quoted from military.com, there are at least five amazing moments from the debut of the F-15 Eagle that is very well known in aviation history, and there is no match for it. Here's a summary:
1. Emergency Landing with Only One Wing
The incident occurred in 1983 over the Negev Desert, Israel, where two Israeli Air Force fighter jets (F-15D Eagle and A-4 Skyhawk) were conducting aerial combat exercises. During the exercise, Israeli pilot Zivi Nedivi collided with one of the Skyhawks. Nedivi flinched and saw the fireball created from the collision before falling in a tight spiral maneuver.
Remarkably, Nevidi managed to regain control, and despite running low on fuel, Nevidi took the initiative with an afterburner, darting to an airfield about 10 miles away. This full-wingless F-15 Eagle had to land at twice the recommended speed, and barely managed to stop before hitting the safety barrier. And it wasn't until after landing that Nevidi realized his plane had lost its wings.
At first, McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) didn't believe the story, but after seeing the photos, McDonnell Douglas credited the engine's strength and airframe design with creating enough lift to keep it flying.
2. The only fighter jet to successfully shoot down a satellite
A specially modified F-15A took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on September 13, 1985. Its mission was to rise to an altitude of 11,582 meters and fire its one weapon: an experimental anti-satellite missile weighing 1,180 kg, with a target of a satellite. the size of the VW Frog sedan, the Solwind P78-1, which was none other than a weather satellite that was launched on February 24, 1979.
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| F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet |
The pilot, Major Wilbert “Doug” Pearson took the F-15A into a supersonic 3.8G incline at 68 degrees, almost vertically. He slowed to Mach 1 just over 11,582 meters when the missile was fired. Although the satellite was destroyed and the ASM-135 ASAT (Anti-satellite weapons) anti-satellite missile was successful, the program was discontinued because it was too expensive.
3. “Streak Eagle” Beats Saturn V Rocket
Shortly after the first F-15s were delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1974, USAF test pilots set out to do what they did best: push the limits of the F-15's engines. Between January 16 and February 1, 1975, the F-15, which was unpainted (to reduce its weight), broke eight time-to-climb world records, three held by the Soviet MiG-25.
In its latest record, the Streak Eagle hit 4G at a 60-degree incline, accelerating to twice the speed of sound. It reached an altitude of 98,425 feet in just 3 minutes, 27.8 seconds from brake release, and beat the Saturn V rocket's time to 50,000 feet by 10 seconds. The Saturn V is best known for transporting astronauts to the moon.
4. F-15E Drops Bombs on Iraqi Helicopters
The F-15E Strike Eagle is not only for air superiority, it can also provide close air support with weapons such as the GBU-10 laser-guided bomb. During the Gulf War, the F-15E frequently searched SCUD missile sites to target. On February 14, 1991, Captain of the US Air Force. Richard “TB” Bennett and Dan “Chewie” Bakke were on one of those quests.
AWACS in their area detected an Iraqi Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter operating near the Special Forces mission and was ordered to destroy it. When the Hind started accelerating, the F-15Es couldn't get the missile lock, so they used the 2,000-pound GBU 10. It was a direct hit bomb capable of destroying a Hind helicopter.
5. Unbeaten in Air-to-Air Combat.
Since its introduction in 1972, the F-15 variant used by the US and its allies has achieved more than 104 air victories, most of which were by Israeli Air Force fighter pilots, with zero losses. Apart from Israel, the Allied countries that still fly the F-15 include Singapore, South Korea, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
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