Boeing Unveils the F-15SE ‘Silent Eagle’
So — too long a wait list for the F-35? Got a “speak to the hand” when you queried as to the possibility of an F-22? Super Hornet too much like a rental Camry than a leased Bimmer for your tastes? Well, the good folks at Boeing have just the ride for you:
ST. LOUIS, March 17, 2009 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today in St. Louis unveiled the F-15 Silent Eagle (F-15SE), a new F-15 configuration designed to meet the future needs of international customers.
“The F-15 Silent Eagle is designed to meet our international customers’ anticipated need for cost-effective stealth technologies, as well as for large and diverse weapons payloads,” said Mark Bass, F-15 Program vice president for Boeing. “The innovative Silent Eagle is a balanced, affordable approach designed to meet future survivability needs.”
Yes, it has the latest and greatest in modern options and ability to deliver new hardware:
Improvements in stealth include coatings and treatments on the aircraft. With the added advantage of redesigned conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) that allow for internal weapons carriage, the Silent Eagle becomes a very attractive fighter for Boeing’s international customers.
Depending on the specific mission, the customer can use the CFTs that are designed for internal carriage or change back to the traditional CFTs for optimum fuel capacity and external weapons carriage. The Silent Eagle will be able to internally carry air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 and AIM-120 and air-to-ground weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). The standard weapons load used on current versions of the F-15 is available with the traditional CFTs installed.
The aircraft’s canted vertical tails improve aerodynamic efficiency, provide lift, and reduce airframe weight. Another aerodynamic improvement is the Digital Flight Control System, which improves the aircraft’s reliability and reduces airframe weight.
Survivability improvements include a BAES Digital Electronic Warfare System (DEWS) working in concert with the Raytheon Advanced Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar.
Still, one has to wonder … new wine/old skins and all –
Not to keep beating a dead horse, what would not be done for the F-14 has been done for the F-15 several times over. Geez.
Ah well, at least one of the services can get it right on occasion. We really are going to need something of this sort in quantity one day. There are just too many screaming warriors with spears out there for the ‘Transformers’ gang to beat back, and this is where we’ll need the Eagle/Falcon/Hornet swarms to come in and fight the battle.
Glad I finally came over to your site. You’ve got a good deal going on here.