We are posting this special episode on 27 July 2022, because today marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the mighty F-15 Eagle fighter jet!

The Eagle was designed as an air superiority fighter, but subsequent variants saw the Eagle become an impressive multi-role strike fighter as well.

The Eagle was originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas, which in 1997 merged with Boeing.

The first flight of the Eagle took place at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Since then, hundreds of F-15's have been built and have served with allied air forces around the world. The F-15 is in fact among the most successful of modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of kills by the Israeli Air Force.

50 years on, The Boeing Company continues to build the F-15 for operators around the world.

For this episode, we mark the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-15 with a discussion about the newest variant, the F-15EX Eagle II, which is being acquired by the United States Air Force (USAF).

The first two F-15EX aircraft were delivered to the USAF in May 2021. The aircraft features state-of-the-art upgrades with fly-by-wire controls, a large area display in the cockpit, advanced avionics, and the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS). The F-15EX also has and open mission systems design with a high-speed optical bus, which is a digital backbone that will allow for the rapid insertion of new and future capabilities. The aircraft also has the size and capacity to carry hypersonic weapons, which makes it an extremely capable and valuable fighter.

Our guest is Kevin "LeeRoy" Williams, a retired USAF F-15E pilot and a F-15SA instructor pilot. Our discussion focuses on a paper which sought to compare the F-15EX and the F-35, so Leroy was able to lend his professional insight as he shared his thoughts about the new F-15EX.

We would like dedicate this episode to the McDonnell Douglas / Boeing engineers who designed the mighty F-15, and to the pilots who have flown it with allied nations around the world.

Thanks to our great guest, Kevin "LeeRoy" Williams, for his professional insight into the F-15!

Go Bold!