McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's design in 1969 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle took its maiden flight in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with 106 victories and no losses in air-to-air combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force. The Eagle has been exported to several countries, including Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Although the F-15 was originally envisioned as a pure air superiority fighter, its design included a secondary ground-attack capability that was largely unused. It proved flexible enough that an improved all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed. That fighter entered service in 1989 and has been exported to several nations. Several additional Eagle and Strike Eagle subvariants have been produced for foreign customers, with production of enhanced variants ongoing. The F-15 was the principal air superiority fighter of the USAF and several U.S. allies during the late Cold War, replacing the F-4 Phantom II. The Eagle was first used in combat by the Israeli Air Force in 1979 and saw extensive action in the 1982 Lebanon War. In USAF service, the aircraft saw combat action in the 1991 Gulf War and the conflict over Yugoslavia. The USAF began replacing its air superiority F-15 fighters with the F-22 Raptor in the 2000s. However, reduced procurement pushed the retirement of the remaining F-15C/D, mostly in the Air National Guard, to 2030 and forced the service to supplement the F-22 with an advanced Eagle variant, the F-15EX, to maintain enough air superiority fighters. The F-15 remains in service with several countries.