The Israel Air Force closely followed the maiden flight of the F-15 Silent
Eagle, which took to the skies over the weekend in the US. Debate continued
within the Defense Ministry over whether it should buy the aircraft in the face
of expected additional delays in the development of the F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter.
The flight took place over St. Louis, headquarters of the
plane’s developer, Boeing Co.
During the 80-minute flight, the plane,
called the F-15E1, opened and closed its left-side conformal weapons bay, which
contained an AIM-120 Instrumented Test Vehicle (ITV) missile that was not
launched.
“The Silent Eagle demonstration flight validated our initial
engineering design approach,” said Boeing F-15 Development Programs Director
Brad Jones. “Our intent was to verify all systems are operational in a flight
environment. This flawless flight allows us to move into the next phase. In the
next couple of weeks, we will ferry F-15E1 to the test range and launch an AIM-
120.”
Boeing unveiled the F-15 Silent Eagle (F-15SE) last March as a new
configuration of the F-15 that had undergone improvements and modifications,
reportedly providing the plane with a stealth capability that is effective in
evading radars on enemy aircraft but not against ground-based radar
systems.
Improvements in stealth include coatings and treatments to the
aircraft, as well as a new design for the conformal fuel tanks that
includes the possibility of
carrying weapons inside them instead of fuel. Israel operates several
squadrons
of F-15s, including one of 25 F-15Is, the aircraft with the longest
range in the
IAF.
While Boeing is still reportedly awaiting Pentagon approval
to
export the plane, Israel has already held a number of initial
discussions
regarding the plane and its capabilities.
The maiden flight comes
as the
Defense Ministry is holding a series of consultations aimed at reaching a
decision on which aircraft to buy and how many by the end of the
summer.
Israel would like to buy the JSF fifthgeneration fighter
jet
manufactured by Lockheed Martin, but is concerned with expected delays
and the
soaring price of the plane, now estimated at close to $150 million. In
comparison, the F-15SE will reportedly cost around $100m.