F-15 Silent Eagle

[davebender]

Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle demonstrator completes 1st weapon launch | World Military Forum - Latest Military News | Army, Navy, Air Force, Missiles

I like the F-22. However I'm starting to wonder if the U.S.A.F. was too eager to replace the F-15. The F-15 has a fantastic combat record and it appears the aircraft has considerable capability to make it more stealthy. Probably not as stealthy as the F-22 which was designed with stealth in mind right from the beginning. However development costs are likely to be much less. 1,000 semi-stealthy F-15 Silent Eagles might be a better deal then 200 of the more stealthy F-22s.

 

[timshatz]

Probably keep it around a bit longer. But I kinda doubt the manned fighter has much life left in it. Between the drones, avionics advances and the ability to let a computer think for itself, one has to wonder when the air above will be full of drones doing the job with people in an advisory capacity.

When you consider the cost of an F22 making the production a limited event, it is possible for the signature of every F22 out there (what there is of it) can be stored in a computer and the drones just go hunting for them in a time of war. Consider a stealthy drone out looking for a stealthy manned fighter. Odds favor the drone. It doesn't get tired or bored and is indifferent to it's own survival.

I think the same situation is going to stand in for Sea Power. Why make a sub when you can make a semiautonomous torpedo with the signature of the ship(or ships) it wants to kill stored in it's memory banks. Turn them into mines, drop them in the enemy's home port waters and....

Sorry for the thread drift.

Silent Eagle is a nice bird, cheaper and given the sensors, maybe a good call. But if the Eagle can get stealthier, so too should the Raptor.

 

[red admiral]

The F-15 has a fantastic combat record and it appears the aircraft has considerable capability to make it more stealthy.

That's just because it had the radar signature of a small moon to begin with. Putting the weapons in the CFTs and adding a bit of RAM gives a useful decrease in signature, but it's still going to be worse than more modern aircraft like F/A-18, Rafale, Typhoon... Characterising it as a "stealthy" aeroplane is purely a marketing gimmick from Boeing.

Is it going to be that much cheaper? F-22 would be around $200m a pop if production restarted. Standard production F-15s were selling for $100m back in the 1990s even without subsequent inflation.

 

[Matt308]

Manned fighter planes are not on the out. Not by a stretch. Rather netcentric operations wherein manned planes are force multiplied with UAV/UCAV is where we are headed.

 

[syscom3]

The ever increasing costs of manned combat aircraft are making sure that fewer and fewer will be built.

 

[davebender]

ever increasing costs of manned combat aircraft are making sure that fewer and fewer will be built.

There still appears to be a lot of interest in F-15 purchases. For instance some people think Israel will purchase the F-15 Silent Eagle ILO the F-35. If that happens perhaps other nations like Australia will quit waiting for the F-35 and procure F-15s instead.

 

[Matt308]

Dave, everything I have read says Isreal is in with F-35.

Israel and the F-35