How Panic Created The Best Fighter Jet Ever: The F-15 Eagle

The Need for a New Fighter Jet 00:02

• In July 1967, the Soviet Union reveals a new fighter, the Foxbat, which sets off alarm bells in the United States.
• The US does not have a fighter that can combat the Foxbat.
• Military planners believed that air battles of the future would be fought beyond visual range, making the F-4 Phantom, the newest fighter jet at the time, no longer suitable.
• The Phantom was not agile or light, making dogfighting more difficult.
• The Phantom's guided missiles proved hopelessly inaccurate, pilots were left defenseless, and it was built without a gun for close combat.
• American pilots were being downed at alarming rates, and military planners were learning that the age of dogfighting was far from over.

The Need for a Dedicated Air Superiority Fighter 00:35

• In 1968, the Air Force set its sights on building a state-of-the-art air superiority fighter.
• Leading US aircraft designers were invited to submit proposals in 1968.
• Their entries were assessed using a groundbreaking concept called Energy-Maneuverability, a mathematical formula to help define a fighter's total performance in terms of speed, thrust, drag, and weight.
• In December 1969, the contract to build the new fighter was awarded to McDonnell Douglas.
• The F-15 Eagle was designed from the ground up for tactical dominance in any air space.

The F-15 Eagle Design Features 01:24

• The F-15 Eagle had two afterburning turbofans that could unleash a massive forty-eight thousand pounds of combined thrust, making it the fastest fighter jet ever produced by the United States.
• The engines were fitted with variable air intakes, a computerized air inlet control system that adjusted to ensure optimal airflow at any speed or angle of attack.
• The F-15 had low wing loading and a high thrust-to-weight ratio, delivering superior maneuverability.
• The cockpit was mounted high in the fuselage with a canopy offering a commanding 360-degree view along with a digital heads-up display fully integrated with radar and avionics.
• Eight Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles were mounted under wings along the fuselage.
• The F-15 had a 20 millimeter Gatling gun that could dish out up to six thousand rounds a minute.
• Engineers designed in triple-redundant hydraulics, low-vulnerability flight controls, and a reinforced airframe for maximum survivability.

Testing the F-15 Eagle 06:55

• The first prototype was unveiled in June 1972, just three years after McDonnell Douglas was given the go-ahead.
• The new fighter was put through an extensive testing program and had to prove itself against the best of what the Air Force had to offer.
• In nearly every engagement, whether beyond visual range or close in dogfighting, the F-15 commanded an overwhelming advantage.
• With a true air superiority fighter on their hands, the Air Force was ready to send a message to the Soviet Union.

Breaking World Records 07:57

• In 1975, engineers stripped a pre-production F-15 of its non-mission critical components, even removing its paint to make it as light as possible.
• In the cold, dense air of North Dakota, the Eagle made a series of climbs from a dead stop, rocketing up to altitudes as high as 30 kilometers, right to the edge of the earth's stratosphere.
• The F-15 was about to erase the new time-to-climb world records set by the Soviet's Mig-25.

F-15 Eagle Production and Deployment 08:47

• The F-15 Eagle was ordered in large quantities by the US Air Force in 1974.
• By this time, the fighter was already in mass production with over 400 early F-15A and B models ordered.
• America's allies, such as Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, were also eager to get their hands on the new jet.
• The first foreign operator was Israel beginning in 1976, followed by Japan a couple of years later and Saudi Arabia.
• The F-15s were also deployed at West German air bases, right on Soviet Union's doorstep.

Examination of MiG-25 09:22

• In 1976, Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a 29-year-old pilot with the Soviet Air Defence Forces, flew his MiG-25 from a Soviet airbase in the Far East to a civilian Airport in Japan, to escape the Soviet Union.
• Americans got the chance to examine Foxbat down to every last detail after more than a decade shrouded in mystery.
• Although similar in size and appearance, the MiG-25 F-15 had almost nothing else in common.
• The MiG-25 was built mostly out of heavy nickel steel alloy, weighing nearly twice as much as the F-15.
• The large wings of the MiG-25 were not for agility; they were needed just to get the monstrous jet airborne.
• The enormous weight meant that the MiG-25 could only pull a four and a half G maneuver.
• The MiG-25's combat radius was a mere 300 kilometers.
• Its avionics used outdated vacuum tubes, and its radar lacked look-down capability, meaning it couldn't even detect an F-15 flying below its horizon.
• The MiG-25 was anything but the dogfighting monster Americans had feared; it was purely a high altitude interceptor, designed to reach incredible speeds catch enemy bombers.
• It was not built to do much else.
• The Soviets had kept the Foxbat's capabilities a closely guarded secret, cashing in on its propaganda value and the alarm it had caused Americans.

F-15's Success 11:12

• F-15 scored its first victories in 1979 when Israeli pilots downed 4 Syrian MiG-21's in a single engagement.
• Over the years, the Eagle would win air battle after battle, clearing skies of adversaries almost as a matter of routine.
• Today, F-15's have racked up more than 100 victories without a single defeat, a record unmatched by any fighter in history.
• Early F-15 A and B models were soon joined by C D variants, improving on the aircraft's range, payload, and weapon systems.
• Originally conceived of as an air superiority fighter, the F-15 would also be developed into a formidable ground attack aircraft, leveraging the fighter's superior range, speed, and payload.

F-15's Vitality 12:02

• Nearly a half-century after taking to the skies, F-15 remains vital in the U.S. Air Force.
• With deliveries beginning in 2021, of the F-15EX, a thoroughly modernized replacement for the F-15C.

MiG-25 vs. F-15 12:24

• The MiG-25 was never designed to combat an air superiority fighter like the F-15.
• In January of 1991, the two Cold War icons came face to over skies Baghdad.
• What the MiG-25 lacked in maneuverability, it made up for raw power as the fastest fighter of all time.
• And the Iraqis would use it to their advantage, devising a daring plan ambush F-15 Eagles as they patrolled the skies.

Nebula 13:02

• Mustard has a next video on the incredible air battle between MiG-25 and F-15 in Baghdad, exclusively coming to Nebula this month.
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