The U.S. Air Force’s F-15C Fighter Will Never Be Forgotten

The F-15C Is Going Away But Will Not Be Forgotten: In a sign that there is now a changing of the guard when it comes to U.S. Air Force fighter jets, four F-15C Eagles launched out of Kadena Air Base, Japan, for the last time on August 24. The F-15Cs flew the coop and headed to the Davis-Monthan Air Force “Boneyard” in Tucson, Arizona, for a final resting place.

Flying missions since 1975, the F-15 Eagles have an untarnished combat record of over 100 wins versus zero losses. The F-15Cs will be replaced by the new F-15EX Eagle IIs that are chock full of modern features.

F-15C: What Is the Story Behind Such a Fabulous Fighter?

Let’s look at the fantastic history of the F-15C as its numbers dwindle in 2024.

The F-15C/D (the D version is a two-seater) was produced in St. Louis, Missouri, by McDonnell Douglas and made its first flight in 1979. During the 1970s, the United States was worried about the fast and maneuverable Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat.

The Air Force was also concerned that the proficiency of dogfighting during the Vietnam War by Air Force pilots was less than desired, and a new twin-engine, all-weather fighter was needed. This became the F-15A. The F-15B was a trainer.

New Radar with Better Range

The upgraded F-15C had the latest X-band pulse-Doppler radar for better situational awareness. This version of the Eagle also had 750 gallon conformal fuel tanks to improve its range of 2,100 nautical miles.

The airframe remained consistent throughout the F-15 lifespan. It is about 64 feet long with a wingspan of 43 feet. The pilot sits almost 19 feet from the ground. Without fuel it weighs 31,700 pounds and 36,200 pounds when full.

This Jet Was a Hot Rod

The F-15C received a performance upgrade with new Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 engines producing 23,000 to 29,000 pounds of thrust to hit over MACH 2, sometimes even reaching MACH 2.5. The F-15C was a “hot rod” for the era.

It could perform 9g maneuvers, an improvement from the 7.33g F-15A, which helped it in aerial battles.

Saudi F-15Cs Make Iran Pay

The first combat test of the F-15C was conducted by Saudi Arabian pilots who engaged Iranian F-4E Phantoms over the Persian Gulf in 1984. The Saudi pilots splashed two F-4Es and showed just how powerful the F-15C was in a dogfight.

Success In the First Gulf War

The American F-15Cs had a good war during Operation Desert Storm. There were no F-15C losses at that time. The airplane made numerous sorties in various mission sets during the short war. The great aspects of the F-15Cs were its relative ease of maintenance and noteworthy endurance. Operational tempo was high during Desert Storm, but the F-15Cs answered the call and were able to conduct a mission, land, and then be prepped to fly again successfully soon after.

The stats were impressive. F-15Cs flew 2,200 missions and logged 7,700 hours of flight time during the First Gulf War. Again, the warbird sustained zero losses. The F-15C was credited with 32 aerial wins.

F-15C Shoots Down Two Bogeys Over Kosovo

During the NATO air war in the Balkans in 1999, one F-15C pilot had a banner day during operations over Kosovo. Air Force Captain Jeff “Claw” Hwang engaged two enemy MiG-29 Fulcrums and shot them down with air-to-air missiles.

Hwang won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions.

War on Terror Mainstay

During the war in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11, the F-15C was extremely busy.

The F-15C will be wholly taken out of service in the future. The Air Force will ultimately retire 57 F-15C/Ds, which will be the end of the era for such a successful fighter. They deserve a better fate than the Boneyard in Arizona.

Perhaps some will live on in the various Air National Guard units or as trainers. F-15Cs enjoyed over four decades of exemplary service. They are a testament to the Air Force and its fighter pilots who knew the F-15 airframe so well, they were able to use it in multiple wars for various missions that included downing enemy airplanes and helping soldiers on the ground with danger close strikes to keep the bad guys away.

Pilots and crews will miss the F-15C and will go down as one of the most successful fighters in history.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.