Is the Air Force Getting Ready to Dump the F-15?
A brief exchange a Congressional committee has some wondering if the Air Force is seriously considering dumping the F-15 Eagle for upgraded versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This would effectively end the Eagle's 40-year reign as America's premier air superiority fighter.
According to Flightglobal, South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson asked Air National Guard director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice what effect replacing the F-15C and its two-seater variant, the F-15D, would have on American air superiority. Rice answered that updated F-16s could fill the gap. When pressed by Congresswoman and Air Force veteran pilot Martha McSally if the F-15's unique capabilities would be lost, Rice admitted that was the case. "But," he added, "I think that we're getting beyond that and I think as we get into the digital age...the system will be even more important than the platform itself."
An Air National Guard official later stressed that retiring the F-15 was "very, very pre-decisional", a bureaucratic term that means "we haven't decided yet." (It concedes a lack of a decision without making the speaker sound indecisive.)
"As we get into the digital age...the system will be even more important than the platform itself."
The first F-15 flew in 1972, and full production began in 1973. The F-15 has an amazing 104-0 kill record in battle. An ongoing program to update the F-15, Golden Eagle, tests all the planes for wear and tear. The 178 planes in the best physical condition receive new APG-63V3 active electronically scanned array radars and the Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System, allowing rapid target acquisition with infrared guided missiles. Golden Eagle fighters are paired with F-22 Raptors for fighter combat.
If the F-15s were replaced it would be with updated F-16s likely brought up to the newest F-16V standard. The -V update includes the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), an advanced radar system that uses hardware and software from the radars that equip the F-22 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. SABR can identify and engage targets with AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missiles at longer ranges than previous radars. The F-16V also gains the SNIPER advanced targeting pod, which is useful in identifying and targeting both air and ground targets with an infrared sensor.
What's driving this change? Cost. In 2013, the F-15 Eagle cost $41,921 an hour to fly, while the F-16C cost just $22,514 an hour. The replacement for the F-15, the newer F-22 Raptor, costs $68,362 an hour to fly, while the replacement for the F-16, the F-35, costs $42,200 an hour to fly. As more F-35s join the Air Force, their operating costs will make a dent in the Air Force's budget, and perhaps the cheaper F-16 could help.
Source: Flightglobal
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