Boeing Unveils New Stealthy F-15 (F-15SE)
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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."
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.
Boeing has completed a conceptual prototype of the CFT internal-carriage concept, and plans to flight-test a prototype by the first quarter of 2010, including a live missile launch.
The design, development, and test of this internal carriage system are available as a collaborative project with an international aerospace partner.
"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."
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.
Boeing has completed a conceptual prototype of the CFT internal-carriage concept, and plans to flight-test a prototype by the first quarter of 2010, including a live missile launch.
The design, development, and test of this internal carriage system are available as a collaborative project with an international aerospace partner.
Beskar
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If you look carefully, You'll see that the weapons aren't external.
qsaark
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Weapons are carried internally in the modified conformal fuel tanks (CFTs).
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More photos are available at the Ares defense technology blog, and in a series of photos in our Defense Showcase gallery, starting here.
Boeing unveiled the prototype of a new variant of the F-15 Strike Eagle aimed at the Asian and Middle East markets that will incorporate stealthy coatings and structure here on Mar. 17.
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.
Another nice source
http://www.flightglobal.com/cgi-bin/...cludeBlogs=108
Boeing unveiled the prototype of a new variant of the F-15 Strike Eagle aimed at the Asian and Middle East markets that will incorporate stealthy coatings and structure here on Mar. 17.
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.
Another nice source
http://www.flightglobal.com/cgi-bin/...cludeBlogs=108
$100 million LO (i.e. reduced RCS like F/A-18E/F, Eurofighter Typhoon & Rafale BUT with a additional twist of INTERNAL WEAPONS BAYS for 4 weapons) F-15E derivative.
- "Stealthy" CFTs
- internal weapons bays carry 500 gal (3,350 lbs) of fuel rather.
- Internal weapons can include AtA (AIM-9 Sidewinder &/or AMRAAM) &/or AtG (JDAM &/or SDB).
Its all over the net today but here are just a few links.
Air-Attack.com News :: Boeing unveils F-15 Silent Eagle with fifth-generation features
Boeing Unveils New Stealthy F-15 | AVIATION WEEK
Ares Homepage
Ares Homepage
- "Stealthy" CFTs
- internal weapons bays carry 500 gal (3,350 lbs) of fuel rather.
- Internal weapons can include AtA (AIM-9 Sidewinder &/or AMRAAM) &/or AtG (JDAM &/or SDB).
Its all over the net today but here are just a few links.
Air-Attack.com News :: Boeing unveils F-15 Silent Eagle with fifth-generation features
Boeing Unveils New Stealthy F-15 | AVIATION WEEK
Ares Homepage
Ares Homepage
includes video of internal weapons bay operation...
Video: Boeing unveils the "stealthy" F-15 Silent Eagle - The DEW Line
Video: Boeing unveils the "stealthy" F-15 Silent Eagle - The DEW Line
Kharian_Beast
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This goes to show all the naysayers that you DON'T need a complete redesign of the aircraft to achieve stealth mode (aka JF-17 and J-10B)...check out the clever internal weapons carriage, they didn't even bother with internal rotating bay....
Will also be geared towards export market and select customers ONLY (Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Korea, etc.)
Will also be geared towards export market and select customers ONLY (Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Korea, etc.)
Boeing plans new fighter to vie with Lockheed's
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) unveiled on Tuesday a new multi-role design of its F-15 combat aircraft that would vie for international orders against Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Designated the F-15 Silent Eagle, or F-15SE, it incorporates what Boeing calls cost-effective "stealth" technologies as well as redesigned "conformal" fuel tanks that allow for carrying weapons internally to cut the aircraft's radar cross section.
Paul Lewis, a Boeing spokesman, said the projected price was roughly $100 million per copy, including pilot training, spares and support equipment.
By contrast, the F-35 is expected to cost in the upper $60 million range in adjusted 2014 dollars, when full production is due to start, Lockheed Martin spokesman Chris Geisel said in a Feb. 26 emailed statement.
Lewis said the F-15SE represented "a fundamentally different approach" compared with Lockheed Martin, which designed the F-35 from scratch to minimize radar detection.
"We have selectively applied stealth," he said. "You haven't put all your eggs in one basket."
The aircraft represents "a balanced, affordable approach designed to meet future survivability needs," Mark Bass, a Boeing vice president, added in a statement.
Improvements in stealth, or radar avoidance, include coatings and treatments on the aircraft. The F-15SE would 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 and Small Diameter Bomb.
Depending on the specific mission, the new F-15 could carry the special fuel tanks designed to create internal weapons bays or swap them out to optimize fuel capacity and external weapons loads, Boeing said.
Richard Abolafia, a fighter-market expert at aerospace consultancy TEAL Group Corp, said the new F-15 had some "strong opportunities, particularly in South Korea, Singapore and Saudi Arabia."
Overseas competitors include Saab AB's (SAABb.ST) Gripen, the Dassault Aviation SA (DAST.PA) Rafale, Russia's MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.
Lockheed Martin is developing its F-35 for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps plus eight international partners: Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Jon Schreiber, who heads the F-35 program's international aspects for the Pentagon, told Reuters in an interview Tuesday that he foresaw orders from Israel for an initial 25 F-35s by early next year. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gary Hill)
Boeing plans new fighter to vie with Lockheed's | Markets | Markets News | Reuters
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) unveiled on Tuesday a new multi-role design of its F-15 combat aircraft that would vie for international orders against Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Designated the F-15 Silent Eagle, or F-15SE, it incorporates what Boeing calls cost-effective "stealth" technologies as well as redesigned "conformal" fuel tanks that allow for carrying weapons internally to cut the aircraft's radar cross section.
Paul Lewis, a Boeing spokesman, said the projected price was roughly $100 million per copy, including pilot training, spares and support equipment.
By contrast, the F-35 is expected to cost in the upper $60 million range in adjusted 2014 dollars, when full production is due to start, Lockheed Martin spokesman Chris Geisel said in a Feb. 26 emailed statement.
Lewis said the F-15SE represented "a fundamentally different approach" compared with Lockheed Martin, which designed the F-35 from scratch to minimize radar detection.
"We have selectively applied stealth," he said. "You haven't put all your eggs in one basket."
The aircraft represents "a balanced, affordable approach designed to meet future survivability needs," Mark Bass, a Boeing vice president, added in a statement.
Improvements in stealth, or radar avoidance, include coatings and treatments on the aircraft. The F-15SE would 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 and Small Diameter Bomb.
Depending on the specific mission, the new F-15 could carry the special fuel tanks designed to create internal weapons bays or swap them out to optimize fuel capacity and external weapons loads, Boeing said.
Richard Abolafia, a fighter-market expert at aerospace consultancy TEAL Group Corp, said the new F-15 had some "strong opportunities, particularly in South Korea, Singapore and Saudi Arabia."
Overseas competitors include Saab AB's (SAABb.ST) Gripen, the Dassault Aviation SA (DAST.PA) Rafale, Russia's MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.
Lockheed Martin is developing its F-35 for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps plus eight international partners: Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Jon Schreiber, who heads the F-35 program's international aspects for the Pentagon, told Reuters in an interview Tuesday that he foresaw orders from Israel for an initial 25 F-35s by early next year. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gary Hill)
Boeing plans new fighter to vie with Lockheed's | Markets | Markets News | Reuters
qsaark
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Hi,
Following is a classical example of starting several threads on essentially the same topic.
Munir started a thread on F-15 SE at 6:45 PM in Military Photos & Multimedia section
Gabbar started a thread on F-15 SE at 9:11 PM in Military & World Affairs Watch section
Mean-bird started a thread on F-15 SE at 11:17 PM in Military Aviation section
Please, browse through the various sections before starting the new threads.
Mods, please merge the threads or delete the two recent ones.
Following is a classical example of starting several threads on essentially the same topic.
Munir started a thread on F-15 SE at 6:45 PM in Military Photos & Multimedia section
Gabbar started a thread on F-15 SE at 9:11 PM in Military & World Affairs Watch section
Mean-bird started a thread on F-15 SE at 11:17 PM in Military Aviation section
Please, browse through the various sections before starting the new threads.
Mods, please merge the threads or delete the two recent ones.
Similar threads
