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They are thinking of retiring the F-15Cs and F-15D. The air superiority role the F-15s used to handle would then be covered by F-16s with upgraded avionics.
"We do have capacity in the F-16C community to recapitalize that radar to serve the same function as the F-15 has done and thereby reduce the different systems that we have to sustain and operate, so that makes it more efficient," West said about the effort to minimize the number of systems pilots operate.
Are they really reducing disparate systems that much if they are still keeping the F-15E? I guess I've never really thought about how much commonality there is among the two platforms, I'd assume a lot more than between Hornet and Superhornet.
They are thinking of retiring the F-15Cs and F-15D. The air superiority role the F-15s used to handle would then be covered by F-16s with upgraded avionics...
We (those of us who did or still fly the F-16) were doing the OCA and DCA missions for years. Did the F-16's APG-68V5 radar have the same capability of the F-15's APG-63 and 70 radars? Not at all, we did not have a credible identification-friend or foe (IFF) system, and our detection range wasn't as good. But with the APG-80 AESA radar, there is essentially equality in that realm, and the AESA radar can track many targets, and a lot of F-16s have been upgraded with the IFF interrogator. The F-16 can "only" carry six AIM-120 missiles to the F-15's eight. Combat range and endurance is about equal, and the F-16 is way less easy to see. Flying against the F-15 made it clear why we called it the "Titanium Tennis Court" or "Rodan". Two engines are only marginally better than one; less maintenance with one and less fuel use.
There were some serious problems with the F-15 about ten years ago; one just plain broke apart in flight. While they have been fixed or at least released for flight, the newest C or D model was last delivered to the US in 1985. All flying US F-16s are younger than that, and average ten years younger than the F-15 fleet.
Upgrading the F-16 would be significantly more cost-effective compared with fixing the Eagle. It would extend the F-16 life as the F-35 comes on line.
Last edited by SluggoF16; 03-29-2017 at 12:43 PM..
F-15 strike eagle is special compared to the regular F-15. The latest
are old. Like using Wright Brothers plane in WW2.
One big difference is that F-16 are single engine aircraft while the F-15 are dual engines.
the F15e strike eagle has a larger bomb capacity than the F16 does.
My reference to F-15E was just questioning the logic that they are reducing the number of platforms they train and run logistics on. If they are keeping F-15E, then not sure how much they are saving but getting rid of F-15C. F-15E has a bigger bomb capacity than just about anything that doesn't start with the letter "B".
Quote:
Originally Posted by SluggoF16
Upgrading the F-16 would be significantly more cost-effective compared with fixing the Eagle. It would extend the F-16 life as the F-35 comes on line.
Without a doubt. Capability wise we'd lose some performance and air-to-air payload but the evolving nature of air-to-air combat puts far more emphasis on information and networking than climb rates and top speeds.
Obviously many countries in the world rely on F-16 as their prime interceptor, including some that regularly pop them up to wave at Russian bombers skirting their airspace. As many F-35s USAF is buying I imagine they'd be working hand-in-hand with the 4th gen planes same as USN has described using F-35s with F-18s: Stealthy F-35/F-22 controls the airspace and F-16/F-18 is the bomb/missile truck coming up behind it.
Not doubting you, but does the F-15 really not have a range / combat radius advantage over the F-16? I figured that with the F-15 having ~ 44klbs spread in MGTW / empty weight, vs. 24klbs for the F-16, the F-15 would have an advantage in this area...
Not doubting you, but does the F-15 really not have a range / combat radius advantage over the F-16? I figured that with the F-15 having ~ 44klbs spread in MGTW / empty weight, vs. 24klbs for the F-16, the F-15 would have an advantage in this area...
In any case, thanks in advance for the response!
The F-15 carries ~13,500 lbs/1985 gallons of fuel internally. The F-16 fuel capacity is 7200 lbs/1058 gallons. The F-15 and F-16 Block 10/15/20/25/32 and 42 aircraft have the same engine (P&W F-100-200 and later -220) rated at 24K thrust; the F-16 Block 30, 40 have the GE F-110 rated at 28K thrust, and the magnificent Block 50 and 52 have GE and PW engines rated at 29.5K and 29K respectively... one can never have too much thrust. The Eagle has double the fuel and double the engines compared to the Viper, so the two aircraft are nearly identical in endurance. That slight thrust-to-weight advantage means the F-15 can go a bit farther for the same fuel, but not by much, since the F-16's relaxed static stability and fuselage lift make up for the higher wing loading and is almost as efficient aerodynamically.
Adding external fuel tanks: Each wing tank for the F-15 is 600 gallons, the centerline tank is also 600. The F-16 wing tanks are 370 gallons each, the centerline tank for the F-16 is 300 gallons. In the end, kinda/sorta the same. Whenever I in the was in the DCA role in combat along with the F-15, we'd hit the tanker at the same time and then return to the tanker at about the same time. The F-15 has conformal tanks as well, huge advantage in fuel carriage, but they limit G, add weight, and cannot be jettisoned, so the only user now is the F-15E Strike Eagle, which while a capable bomber platform is not as maneuverable as the F-15C and F-16.
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