Avenir du F-15 dans l'USAF

[ZeusIrae]

heuh, ça fait pas partie de la doctrine de l'USAF, le Hi-Low mix?Beaucoup d'avions legers et un nombre reduit de chasseurs hautes performances.

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

En effet, mais ça n'a pas toujours été le cas, et même maintenant, ce n'est pas un situation assurée.

Disons qu'il y a au Pentagone les partisans du tout "high" et ceux du tout "Low". Et au final, on se retrouve en général avec un mix "High-Low".

Il faut juste savoir que les partisans du "High" ont toujours eu l'avantage tactique: les avions lourds (F-4, F-15, F-22) ont toujours trouvé assez de soutiens pour que les programmes soient lancés. Mais c'est souvent au moment où il faut allonger la facture (commandes supplémentaires, surcouts, etc.) que les politiciens commencent à réchigner et à soutenir les partisans du "Low", ce qui résulte souvent à un mix, en effet.

On peut d'ailleurs souligné qu'en 2000-2001, avant quele JSF ne devienne le F-35, beauocup d'analystes pensaient encore que l'avion ne verrait jamais le jour et que le Super Hornet et le F-22 (avec un complément de F-16E ou de F-15E pour l'USAF) seraient les seuls avions US de ce début de siècle. Et tous précisaient bine que ce n'étaient pas tant les besoins opérationnels que les besoins commerciaux et industriels qui détermineraient l'avenir du JSF!

[ZeusIrae]

Ils comptaient gardaient less f-16 jusqu'en 2030?Ou alors, ils pensaient vraiment que l'USAF n'aurait à terme que des chasseurs lourds?

[g4lly]

Deux F15 entre en collisions...

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2040236920080221?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

[pascal]

Quand çà veut pas rire çà rigole pas...

Espèrons pour eux qu'ils ne devront pas se farcir des campagnes de blogs telles celles nées après le crash du Rafale.

[pakho]

Quand çà veut pas rire çà rigole pas...

Espèrons pour eux qu'ils ne devront pas se farcir des campagnes de blogs telles celles nées après le crash du Rafale.

Aucune chance que ça arrive, il s'agit d'avions américains là. Même quand ils se brisent en plein vol comme des vieille biscottes pourries, il n'y a aucune réelle remise en cause du mythe aérospatial américain. C'est les meilleuuure du mooooonde enfin  :lol:

Bon polémique mise à part, mes condoléances au pilote décédé dans cet accident :-[

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/02/20/jetcrash/index.html

[Will]

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3442487&c=AME&s=AIR

Le pilote du F-15 qui s'est casse en vol en Novembre "va au tribunal" (sue) contre Boeing  :-X

U.S. Pilot Sues Boeing Over F-15 Falling Apart

By bruce rolfsen

Published: 24 Mar 15:27 EDT (11:27 GMT)  Print  |    Email

The pilot of the F-15C Eagle that broke apart in November, forcing an U.S. Air Force-wide grounding of F-15s, has sued the jet's builder.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 from Boeing. (Capt. Tana Stevenson / U.S. Air Force) Maj. Stephen Stilwell's lawsuit accuses Boeing Co. of endangering the lives of F-15 pilots and claims the company should have known the fighter wasn't built to specifications.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 from Boeing. The 27-year-old jet was built by McDonnell Douglas, which became part of Boeing in 1997.

The "misconduct of Boeing constituted gross indifference" and a "conscious disregard for the safety of F-15 pilots," the lawsuit filed March 21 in St. Louis, Mo., federal district court claims.

The lawsuit says that Stilwell, a Missouri Air National Guard and commercial airline pilot, has not been cleared to return to flying military or civilian jets because of the injuries he suffered as the plane broke into pieces and he ejected. Calls to Boeing were not immediately returned.

After the Nov. 2 breakup, an Air Force investigation which included assistance from Boeing, determined that the fighter broke apart behind the cockpit because one of the support beams - called a longeron -that reinforces the fuselage snapped apart. The aluminum-alloy longeron failed because it was thinner than what specifications called for and its rough finish left the longeron susceptible to cracking.

The breakup occurred as Stilwell flew a 7.8G-turn, a standard training maneuver.

An inspection of all Air Force F-15s turned up 149 that also had thin or rough finished longerons and nine jets with cracked longerons.

Since the inspections, the Air Force has cleared most of its 420-plus F-15s to return to flight. However, Eagles with questionable longerons must be inspected more often.

[Batou]

Un autre f-15 au tas...  =(

De NELLIS 65ème Agressors.  O0

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. - The pilot who died in an aircraft accident July 30 was identified as Lt. Col. Thomas Bouley in a press conference with Col. Russell Handy, 57th Wing commander. Colonel Bouley was the 65th Aggressor Squadron commander.

Colonel Bouley died when the U.S. Air Force F-15D Eagle, a two seater he was piloting, crashed on the Nevada Test and Training Range during a Red Flag training exercise July 30, 2008.

"Colonel Bouley had recently celebrated his 20th year wearing the uniform, and had more than 4,200 flight hours in the F-15 Eagle, the Royal Air Force F-3 Tornado, and the T-38 Talon," said Colonel Handy during the press conference. "He was a decorated warrior, an inspiring leader of Airmen, and a loving father and husband. He served his country with distinction and will be greatly missed."

The other pilot in the aircraft, a Royal Air Force exchange pilot, is in stable condition. His name is being withheld due to the ongoing investigation, but will be released when the accident investigation board completes its work.

Both pilots were assigned to the 65th Aggressor Squadron, whose mission is to simulate opposing enemy air forces during Red Flag exercises here.

Condoléances à sa famille et bon rétablissement à son camarade.

[Berkut]

On sait ce qui s'est passé? Encore un F15 qui tombe en morceau?

[Batou]

Pas d'explication pour le moment.

Le copilote devrait donner des explications prochainement je pense.

Le lien de la dépêche: http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=8766344&nav=15MUKUzj

[Berkut]

Le colonel c'était pas un touriste, "20th year wearing the uniform, and had more than 4,200 flight hours in the F-15 Eagle, the Royal Air Force F-3 Tornado, and the T-38 Talon"

Un vrai agressor bien velu... condoléances aux proches, espérons que le brit' s'en sorte.

[zx]

Le F15 nouveau est arrivé,  avec des caractéristiques de la 5eme generation =)

avis aux connaisseurs, bonne dégustation  ;)

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/03/17/323962/pictures-boeing-unveils-upgraded-f-15-silent-eagle-with-fifth-generation.html

PICTURES: Boeing unveils upgraded F-15 Silent Eagle with fifth-generation features

Boeing today unveiled a new F-15 prototype aimed at the international market with such "fifth-generation" add-ons as radar absorbent coatings, internal weapons carriage and integrated digital avionics, plus featuring a distinctive V-tail.

Improving the fourth generation fighter’s profile on air-to-air radar is Boeing’s key goal for the F-15SE, which the company plans to offer to five foreign countries with an estimated market for 190 orders.

Radar absorbent materials added to leading edges are designed to soften the F-15SE’s head-on radar signature. Canting both horizontal stabilizers by 15 degrees is intended to reduce radar returns to the side.

Finally, embedding missiles and bombs inside conformal fuel tanks also reduces radar signature in all directions, and allows the F-15SE to perform its warfighting mission even with “clean” wings.

Boeing claims the end-result is an aircraft that can match the frontal-aspect stealth profile of any fifth generation fighter in configurations cleared by the US government for export release.

“We know we can get to the US government release level for international customers,” said Brad Jones, Boeing’s manager for future F-15 programmes.

To be fair, Boeing acknowledges the F-15SE’s stealth improvements do not help against ground-based radar systems, which are critical for waging offensive strikes against opponents armed with surface to air missile systems. Lowering the F-15SE’s thermal signature -- a critical stealthy feature for the Lockheed Martin F-22 – is also not part of Boeing plans.

But Boeing said the F-15SE is aimed at international customers more likely to use the aircraft for defensive, counter-air missions, rather than offensive strikes in defended airspace where all-aspect stealth is necessary for survival.

Despite the stealth improvements, Boeing insists the F-15SE would not tradeoff sensor or aerodynamic performance. The APG-63(V)3 radar would remain canted slightly forward rather than tilted back, preserving coverage and range at the expense of head-on radar cross section.

Moreover, Boeing has designed the F-15SE to also function as a non-stealthy, multi-role aircraft with the F-15E’s full payload of 29,000lbs of weapons. The conformal fuel tanks with the internal weapons bay can be quickly removed after landing, allowing the aircraft to takeoff with a full payload within two hours.

Another key feature of the F-15SE is the electronic warfare system. Boeing has selected the BAE Systems digital electronic warfare system (DEWS), which includes a digital radar warning receiver, digital jamming transmitter, integrated countermeasures dispenser and an interference cancellation system. The aircraft could continue to jam enemy radars even as its own radar and RWR continues to operate, Boeing claims.

Boeing launched the F-15SE, initially dubbed Project Monty, in September. The company-owned F-15E testbed was quickly modified with the V-tail and conformal fuel tanks to provide a ground-based demonstrator.

Flight trials for a risk reduction programme are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010. The first aircraft could be available for delivery to foreign customers three years after a deal is signed. Boeing plans to offer the F-15SE to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Israel and Saudi Arabia, with all being current F-15 customers.

Notionally, Boeing estimates the F-15SE’s cost, including airframe, spares and training, at $100 million each.

The F-15’s single-largest customer – the US Air Force – is not officially a sales target for the F-15SE. However, Boeing says that all of the stealth, avionics and structural upgrades can be retrofitted on any existing F-15E. Company officials have briefed three agencies within the US Air Force, including Air Combat Command, but only as a “courtesy”, a Boeing spokeswoman said.

See more coverage and photos on the F-15 Silent Eagle at Stephen Trimble's The D.E.W. Line

See more images of the F-15 Silent Eagle on AirSpace

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=28081

[xav]

Ca y est, en plus du F16, ils auront des F15 ameliorés pour couper l'herbe sous les pieds des EF/Rafale/Gripen en les vendant au rabais.

Bon en tout cas bravo pour y intégrer des soutes  :O

A voir comment les perf d'origines sont affectée...

S'agit il exactement des meme CFT du F15? (voir des soutes "a bagage" car je sais que c'est une option pour le F15 egalement)

Ces soutes me paraissent plus volumineuses

edit:

F-15SE feels like a condor hovering over F-35, waiting for carcass.

[g4lly]

S'agit il exactement des meme CFT du F15? (voir des soutes "a bagage" car je sais que c'est une option pour le F15 egalement)

Ces soutes me paraissent plus volumineuses

A y regarder de pret il semble quelles soient pas plus grosse que les CFT classique ou du moins et se raccorde au fuselage aux meme niveau et ne semble pas plus renflée, ou a peine plus.

[zx]

quelques details de plus sur aviationweek

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/Silent031709.xml&headline=Boeing%20Unveils%20New%20Stealthy%20F-15&channel=defense

Company officials hope the new aircraft will garner up to 190 orders, extending the F-15 line beyond the current backlog of 38 aircraft for South Korea and Singapore. Since the company lost the Joint Strike Fighter contest to Lockheed Martin, the future of its St. Louis manufacturing facility has been uncertain. Continued F-15 sales, as well as additional orders for F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs, are the only work in the foreseeable future for the plant.

Major design changes in the new "Silent Eagle" version include internal bays within the existing conformal fuel tanks that can carry a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. Each tank will be configured to hold two air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 and AIM-120 or a combination of the two.For the air-to-ground mission, 1,000- and 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions can be carried or four 250-pound Small Diameter Bombs per tank. Weapons loadout can also be split between the AIM-120 and JDAM for a multirole mission.The Silent Eagle configuration includes 15-degree outward-canted V-tails - a shift away from the characteristic vertical fins of the F-15 that reduces the radar cross-section.

The Mach 2.5 speed of the Strike Eagle is maintained, but the cost is about 180-200 nautical miles of range capability because of the reduce fuel in the conformal tanks, says Brad Jones, program manger for F-15 future programs.

The new design includes a digital electronic warfare system (DEWS), made by BAE Systems, that can operate simultaneously with the aircraft's Raytheon active electronically scanned array radar.

Stealth coatings, though not yet applied to Boeing's prototype, could be added at a later time. Boeing says the coatings could contibute to an equivalent amount of front-aspect stealth as that offered by Lockheed's F-35. This includes reducing radar returns from sharp edges on the aircraft, including antennae.

Stealthiness for the F-15 was explored about a decade ago for the U.S. Air Force as an alternative to the Lockheed-led F-22, but was never pursued. "The internal carriage is what is new. The stealth is not," Jones says, adding "We are not really after the F-22 market or the F-35 market" with this new design.

The level of stealthiness exportable on the F-15 is up to the U.S. government to decide, Jones says. Though USAF officials have been given courtesy briefings on the Silent Eagle, talks on stealth exportability have not yet occurred.

A radar blocker for engine inlets, already fitted in F/A-18E/Fs, could be added depending on how much radar cross-section reduction is required by the customer and allowed by the government.

Jones estimates the cost of a Silent Eagle will be about $100 million per aircraft, including spares, if built new. A retrofit kit including the conformal fuel tanks, DEWS and coatings could be added to existing Strike Eagles, he says.

The target market includes South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Israel and Saudi Arabia, Jones says. The first likely customer is South Korea, which is looking for two new fighters, including its F-X Phase III program, which calls for 60 aircraft in the F-15 class.

South Korea's Agency for Defense Development is also pushing for a KFX program, which calls for about 120 domestically developed stealth fighters. Jones says coproduction of stealth materials would be subject to U.S. government review and a tough case to sell.

Japan and Saudi Arabia are also looking for new F-15-class fighters. And if the Silent Eagle were sold to the Saudis, Israel likely would want a chance to buy the aircraft too to maintain balance of power in the Middle East.

Boeing's willingness to integrate indigenous systems, such as electronic warfare suites, onto the Silent Eagle is an option that could be of interest to these customers - especially Israel. Israeli industry was recently rebuffed by U.S. officials unwilling to add foreign EW systems under the F-35 development program.

The weapons-carrying fuel tanks, which are affixed to the aircraft with two bolts, and can be removed within about 2.5 hours. Reinstalling the original fuel tanks restores the F-15 to its nonstealthy configuration, which is capable of hauling more and larger weapons, including anti-ship missiles.

The Silent Eagle prototype is based on F-15E1, the program's flight test aircraft. To date, it has been outfitted with the conformal tanks and the canted tails, which are for demonstration only and not structurally integrated. The actual canted tails would be added later if a customer requested them. Stealth coatings and engine intake blockers have not been added.

Jones says Boeing hopes to begin flight testing the weapons-carrying conformal tanks on the aircraft in the first quarter of next year. Design work on the Silent Eagle concept began in September last year in response to feedback from F--15 customers, he says

[P4]

Mr Bill s'y colle, suivit d'un lot de commentaires de ses fans.

Je suis étonné que les Israéliens ne l'ait pas fait avant.

[flanker]

Intégrer des soutes à missiles dans les CFT pour améliorer la furtivité alors qu'il y a toujours les aubes de compresseur parfaitement visibles de face (comme sur le Su-35 d'ailleurs) ça me laisse plus de dubitatif sur l'intérêt de la chose, à part pour faire plus "tendance"  :P

EDIT : le dernier article parle de "radar blocker for engine inlets" mais d'une part la vitesse max va drôlement chuter, et d'autre part ça reste bien loin de l'efficacité de conduites d'air étudiées dès le début pour un maximum de furtivité.

Mais je suis d'accord pour dire que ça pourrait faire un concurrent sérieux aux marché des avions 4++

Su-35 powaaa  >:(

[TMor]

Il n'avait pas besoin de ça pour en être un.

Curieuse machine.

[xav]

hi rez

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3223/msf090028137.jpg

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/592/msf090028259.jpg

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3837/f15seside.jpg

[flanker]

En 1996, Boeing proposait déjà le F-15 MANX  :O

[Berkut]

Hope they didn't forget to throw in some duct tape for those pesky longerons... just in case...

:lol: :lol:

N'empêche c'est magnifique. Un chasseur intercepteur lourd qui embarque... quatre missiles, point. Sans oublier sa SER qui mange un peu au passage (même si le fait de se colleter huit missiles sous pylônes peut être pire, au moins il a un armement décent pour faire de la DA par exemple).

Ils sont boudiné le pauvre F15 avec des réservoirs conformes et là ils remettent ça avec des containers conformes... Ils voudraient pas en monter au dessus? Bah oui l'avion se retourne et hop, missiles largué. Derrière le canopy ça ne se verrait pas trop en plus. En plus d'être gras, le F15 serait bossu. Il n'est plus à ça prêt.  :P

What a shame...

[Chaps]

Ben y avait le Jaguar qui portait ses sidewinders sur le dessus des ailes  :)

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/jaguar-solo_1024.jpg

Sinon pour du simili-furtifs, 4 AA c'est déjà bien. Si on a besoin d'être furtif, c'est que la menace est assez évoluée... et donc coûteuse et peu nombreuse. En abattre un ou deux, c'est déjà gagner un sacré avantage.

Le truc bien, c'est qu'il serait facilement convertible entre la version camion à bombres F-15E et cette version un peu furtive.

Pour la phase aérienne, on le laisse en version discrète puis on le reconfigure en version noraml pour la suite de la campagne.

Mais bon, on est d'accord, c'est un patch industriel sur un vieil avion. Cet upgrade peut peut-être intéressé des clients qui ont déjà une flotte de F-15, pas trop des nouveaux clients.

[Berkut]

Simili-furtif quand on parle d'un F15... Chaps, quand même... :lol:

Les modifs ne sont en effet pas énormes. Modif des dérives, installation des caissons conformes... Le radôme  est modifié aussi non?

[vincenzo]

Sur cette page il y a des détails sur l'emport interne, il parle aussi du f-35

http://worldwidewarpigs.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B11%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B11%3A00&max-results=50

touvez sur le forum Avions-militaires.net

[Chaps]

Simili, c'est plutôt péjoratif. Comment préfères-tu le dire?  version discrète, furtivité améliorée?

Comme ce post ne sert à rien, je mets la vidéo