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F-15 Eagle Development
McDonnell Douglas was awarded the F-15 contract on December 23, 1969, for the development phase which involved building 20 aircraft initially. On June 26, 1972, the F-15 made its ceremonial debut at McDonnell Douglas' St Louis plant located on the same airfield as the city’s airport. Christened the Eagle, the F-15's next milestone – the first flight – occurred on July 27 when Irving Burrows of McDonnell Douglas piloted the fighter on a 50min maiden flight over Edwards AFB, California. This event also launched the F-15's flight-test programme which took place at three locations – Edwards, Eglin AFB, Florida, and the McDonnell Douglas facility at St Louis airport.
NASA supported the F-15 flight-test programme by evaluating three-eighths scale models of remotely piloted research vehicles (RPRVs). The aluminium and fibreglass RPRV's, 23.8ft long with 16ft wingspans and weighing 2,000lb, were dropped from B-52 aircraft at 45,000ft. These trials provided invaluable data that enhanced the safety of the full-scale tests later.
The two-seat F-15B first took to the air on July 7, 1973. McDonnell Douglas built 384 single-seat F-15A aircraft between 1972 and 1979, and 61 two-seat F-15Bs during the same period. Customers for both variants were the Israeli Air Force and the US Air Force.
The F-15C made its maiden flight on February 26, 1979, followed by the two-seat F-15D on June 19, that same year. There were 483 single-seat F-15Cs manufactured between 1979 and 1985, and 92 two-seat F-15Ds during the same period. Aircraft were built for the Israeli Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, and the US Air Force.
Japanese Variant
In the 1980s, Japan built F-15s under licence from McDonnell Douglas and they are currently operated by seven operational squadrons, a training squadron, and a dedicated aggressor unit. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ F-15J Eagle is the primary interceptor in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
The first F-15J was handed over to the JASDF in St Louis in July 1980. The initial two F-15Js and the first 12 F-15DJ aircraft were built in St Louis and flown to Japan. Ten F-15Js and eight F-15DJs were then supplied as kits and assembled by MHI at Komaki, while the remaining 153 F-15Js and 28 F-15DJs were pieced together by MHI with Japanese-produced components. The final F-15J was rolled-out at Komaki on November 4, 1998, followed by the last F-15DJ on October 25, 1999.