Boeing F-15EX/QA and related variants

what is that portruding thing right below the cockpit? its on both sides and found only on the QA and EX versions
 
helmutkohl said:
what is that portruding thing right below the cockpit? its on both sides and found only on the QA and EX versions
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They’re blisters for the AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System. Interestingly enough, those blisters are empty on the F-15EX since the Air Force didn’t order the EX with that system unlike the QA. They remain in place likely due to minimizing changes from a hot production line, and perhaps to avoid having to test the new FBW without those blisters which may have unexpected aerodynamic effects.
 
Probably not for aero effect (remember that those Eagles can fly without a wing ;) )
More certainly for communality of parts (there isn´t that much Eagles left to produce)
 
TomcatViP said:
Probably not for aero effect (remember that those Eagles can fly without a wing ;) )
More certainly for communality of parts (there isn´t that much Eagles left to produce)
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They will have dummy mass representaive parts in them to keep the CoG the same as on the QA. Its all about not needing to retest and requalify the FBW system. The whole reason for buying the EX as is, is because its development was already paid for by someone else.
 
BLACK_MAMBA said:
They will have dummy mass representaive parts in them to keep the CoG the same as on the QA. Its all about not needing to retest and requalify the FBW system. The whole reason for buying the EX as is, is because its development was already paid for by someone else.
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Did the QAs have EPAWS?
 
BLACK_MAMBA said:
I believe it is called TEWS - Tactical Electronic Warefare System on the QA. Information is very scarse for both so it is difficult to directly compare the two.
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TEWS is the name of the original EW system on the F-15C/D/E. The SA and QA has an updated system called DEWS - Digital Electronic Warfare System, while the EX has the EPAWSS that leverages work from the F-35’s EW system.
 
BLACK_MAMBA said:
Depends on where & what they added. EPAWS possibly replaced DEWS's black boxes so didn't alter the CoG.
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They can also add plain ballast to keep the CG where it belongs. When I was doing Hush Kit mods to 727s, one of the things added was a good 120lbs of DU ballast on the radome bulkhead. The Hush Kit engines were several feet longer due to the mixing chamber for the exhaust, which added a good bit of weight to the tail.
 
Scott Kenny said:
They can also add plain ballast to keep the CG where it belongs. When I was doing Hush Kit mods to 727s, one of the things added was a good 120lbs of DU ballast on the radome bulkhead. The Hush Kit engines were several feet longer due to the mixing chamber for the exhaust, which added a good bit of weight to the tail.
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Did you work at Dee Howard? Had a friend there doing the same thing and also BAC 1-11s....

Enjoy the Day! Mark
 
Yes, F-15s have provisions for ballast located on the forward bulkhead to adjust CG into limits. With the new digital fly by wire flight controls and the heavier F110-129 engines (around 500 lbs heavier than F100-229 for the pair), they may be operating the EX with the CG aft for relaxed static stability.
 
Those two new F-15EX without the FAST CFTs look quite sleek. :cool:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1737941256414560603
View: https://twitter.com/BoeingDefense/status/1737941256414560603?t=GQ8TRqXJs7CqdIqpneGNdA&s=19
More pictures:
@Fighterman_FFRC said:
USAF takes delivery of two more F-15EX Eagle IIs: EX3 & EX4, bring the EX fleet number to 4 aircraft. The pair arrived at Eglin Air Force Base on Dec. 20, 2023.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Blake Wiles
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helmutkohl said:
^ agreed, much prefer the look of the F-15 without CFTs, especially the single seater.
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Don't recall seeing any pics of single seaters flying with CFTs operationally. If true, anyone have a pic or two?

Just came across some of the early wind tunnel work on the CFTs - will get those scanned and posted.

Enjoy the Day! Mark
 
The Israeli Air Force operationally flies modified F-15C/D Bazs with CFTs.
Pictures:
https://flic.kr/p/2jkhtaZ
View: https://flic.kr/p/2jkhtaZ

https://flic.kr/p/2jkkk8L
View: https://flic.kr/p/2jkkk8L

[...]Strike Eagles And FAST Packs
Although details of Israel’s startlingly long-ranged attack were kept out of the public eye following the mission, US intelligence services were surely aware of exactly how the mission was executed after the fact. The use of lightly modified F-15C/D Bazs undoubtedly gave further heft to the then finally blossoming F-15E Strike Eagle program, which had been envisioned in different configurations by McDonnell Douglas and the USAF as far back as the mid 1970s.

The F-15E’s official first flight, after the demonstrator beat out the F-16XL during a fly-off competition, would occur just a year after Operation Wooden Leg, with its introduction into USAF service occurring in 1988, although without many of its most advanced features available.

One of the features that the F-15E would be built with was conformal fuel tanks, otherwise known as “FAST Packs,” as in Fuel And Sensor Tactical Packs. These flank hugging 849 gallon tanks were not new to the F-15 with the advent of the Strike Eagle, in fact they were envisioned as an option for the F-15C/D and even retrofittable to the A and B models early on, with the first test flight being flown with them attached to an Eagle in the mid 1970s. They were envisioned to carry everything from fuel to cargo, although the majority of these concepts never made it to fruition.

USAF Eagles only took limited advantage of FAST packs, with some jets deployed to Iceland or stationed in Alaska using them sporadically for the long-range air sovereignty role. The IAF on the other hand saw the great utility in these conformal fuel tanks, not just to enhance range, but to make their air superiority focused Bazs true multi-role heavy fighters.

Like those found on the F-15E, F-15 Baz’s conformal tanks could be fitted with hardpoints for air-to-air missiles or for bombs. This allows for the Baz to fly missions with a pair of underwing tanks and even a centerline tank while still being able execute air-to-ground missions. Today, many Bazs can be seen fitted with indigenously developed FAST Packs built by IAI, but the fact is these were flying on Bazs many decades ago.

By many accounts, they we integral in giving the aircraft flown on Operation Wooden Leg enough range to make the mission possible, as their two wing stations were filled with one GBU-15 each, and their centerline station was fitted with the data-link pod needed to control these weapons. As a result, there was no room for external tanks aside from the FAST packs.

The IAF’s love affair with conformal fuel tanks continues today, not just on the remaining Baz fleet, but also on every fighter aircraft ordered since the early 1990s. Additionally, fuel is not the only thing they carry. Sensors and emitters can also be fitted within them, giving the Baz an entire range of secondary mounting options beyond just its stock hardpoints. [...]
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Source:
jalopnik.com

The Amazing Saga Of How Israel Turned Its F-15s Into Multi-Role Bombers

When the F-15 was created, it was created to be a pure air-to-air fighter, with the philosophy of “not a pound for air-to-ground” guiding designers. So how did Israel end up turning their F-15s into deadly long-range multi-role strike aircraft well before the F-15E Strike Eagle became a reality...
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
Forest Green said:
The F-22 was leaping from nothing though. It was the first stealth air superiority fighter. In the 1980s when it was conceived it was basically science fiction level.
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Yes, so the F-22 airframe shape and materials was a leap.
The engines are simple afterburning turbofans, if strong.
The rest of the systems aren't all that fancy either, they're running on 386 processors.

F-35 is fundamentally a single engine F-22. The airframe shape and materials aren't a huge leap
The engine is still a simple afterburning turbofan, if even stronger than that used in the F-22.
The systems went to skin-integrated antennas and built in EOTS, plus the entire DAS. Those are a huge leap.

NGAD/FAXX is getting adaptive cycle engines, plus the F-35 integrated antennas and DAS, on a stealthy airframe.
So the airframe isn't a huge leap.
The engines are a leap.
Systems are a leap, since they're needing to integrate the CCAs on top of the integrated antennas and EOTS/DAS
 
Well, we still don't know up to what point they have refined modern aerodynamics to reach the vaunted goal of no rudder, and, perhaps no moving parts. We don't know what kind of altitude and Mach those babies would reach (but if you want to cruise at supersonic speed for thousands of miles, what best than a very high altitude?)
We don't known what IR, visual and acoustic stealth they plan to achieve etc...

Those are not trivial iterations of the existing 5th Gen.
 
TomcatViP said:
Well, we still don't know up to what point they have refined modern aerodynamics to reach the vaunted goal of no rudder, and, perhaps no moving parts. We don't know what kind of altitude and Mach those babies would reach (but if you want to cruise at supersonic speed for thousands of miles, what best than a very high altitude?)
We don't known what IR, visual and acoustic stealth they plan to achieve etc...

Those are not trivial iterations of the existing 5th Gen.
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The XB-70 was planned to cruise at 70kft +-. Even the Boeing 2707 was planned to cruise at 60-65k.

So I see that as a likely altitude for the NGAD/FAXX. And IIRC the F-22 is able to cruise at 60-65k. I'm assuming that this requires the cockpit to be pressurized, because otherwise you're going to need a lot of pre-breathing of pure oxygen to avoid nitrogen bubbles. Half hour to an hour pre-breathing.

No rudder has been demonstrated since the 1990s, on the B-2s and now on the B-21s, though not at supersonic speeds. So that's not a huge development.

At least that I've seen here, nothing has flown using non-moving blown "virtual ailerons", and IIRC there's an X-plane scheduled to fly with that setup. So I don't believe that the NGAD/FAXX will have that super stealth design in place.
 
AFAIK F-22s are restricted from flying above 63,000 feet due to blood boiling without a pressure suit. Brief climbs above this are likely possible, like for instance the top of a J turn. But F-22s would not be cruising above 60,000 feet.
 
Josh_TN said:
AFAIK F-22s are restricted from flying above 63,000 feet due to blood boiling without a pressure suit. Brief climbs above this are likely possible, like for instance the top of a J turn. But F-22s would not be cruising above 60,000 feet.
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Nitrogen bubbling out of the blood, but yes.

As in "The Bends," the diver's nemesis.
 

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