Lazerbrainz2k3
Charter Member
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gene...ing Unveils New Stealthy F-15&channel=defense
Saw this in a news email at work the other day, too. So very cool to work for the manufacturer of the F-15... even in a different division (V-22 is pretty great, too).
Another article I found recently talked about the F-15SE having about the same RCS from the front quarter as the F-35 without mentioning that inlet blockers are at least an option. That clarified things, because clearly if you want stealth, those big inlets would be a major problem. The article also mentioned the F-15SE having a "similar" amount of armament to the F-22, which clearly is not the case with just four single-missile bays.
Still, using the CFTs for stealthy internal weapons storage is pretty ingenious, even at the expense of 200 nm of range. I wonder if Lockheed can do the same with the CFTs for their export F-16s, or modify the idea to finally have a pod they can put on the F-22's wing hardpoints capable of maximizing the Raptor's air-to-air loadout without sacrificing stealth.
I'm not sure how I feel about our military buying any, though. Implementing the canted tails is a nice idea if it provides more lift and reduces ballast weight, but with F-22s already in the inventory and F-35s soon to be, I would imagine that American F-15s would be flying into a combat zone already sanitized of air-to-air threats by the true stealth platforms. Who knows.
In any event, to give some amount of stealth to our allies is still a good thing. I look forward to the SE's first flight!
Saw this in a news email at work the other day, too. So very cool to work for the manufacturer of the F-15... even in a different division (V-22 is pretty great, too).
Another article I found recently talked about the F-15SE having about the same RCS from the front quarter as the F-35 without mentioning that inlet blockers are at least an option. That clarified things, because clearly if you want stealth, those big inlets would be a major problem. The article also mentioned the F-15SE having a "similar" amount of armament to the F-22, which clearly is not the case with just four single-missile bays.
Still, using the CFTs for stealthy internal weapons storage is pretty ingenious, even at the expense of 200 nm of range. I wonder if Lockheed can do the same with the CFTs for their export F-16s, or modify the idea to finally have a pod they can put on the F-22's wing hardpoints capable of maximizing the Raptor's air-to-air loadout without sacrificing stealth.
I'm not sure how I feel about our military buying any, though. Implementing the canted tails is a nice idea if it provides more lift and reduces ballast weight, but with F-22s already in the inventory and F-35s soon to be, I would imagine that American F-15s would be flying into a combat zone already sanitized of air-to-air threats by the true stealth platforms. Who knows.
In any event, to give some amount of stealth to our allies is still a good thing. I look forward to the SE's first flight!