F-15SA - Omtalt før, men en formidabel jager

Boeing Presents First F-15SA of Saudi Arms Package

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE » MAY 3, 2013

by  BILL CAREY

A Boeing F-15SA test aircraft made its first flight on February 20 in St. Louis. (Photo: Boeing)

May 3, 2013, 11:50 AM

Boeing Defense presented the first F-15SAdestined for Saudi Arabia in a ceremony at its St. Louis headquarters on April 30. The latest F-15 variant is the centerpiece of the largest foreign military sale in U.S. history, worth $29.4 billion. It also figured prominently in recent U.S.negotiations to improve the military capabilities of Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia simultaneously.

The F-15SA (Saudi Advanced) that rolled out in St. Louis is the first of 84 new fightersSaudi Arabia agreed to purchase in late December 2011; another 70 F-15S fighters already operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force will be upgraded to the SA configuration. Boeing declined to reveal the delivery schedule. Earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force said that new aircraft deliveries to Saudi Arabia will begin in 2015 and conclude by 2019. Conversion kit installations in the kingdom begin in 2016.

The F-15SA first flew at St. Louis on February 20. The USAF said the flight-test program will include three instrumented F-15As flying from Boeing’s St. Louis and Palmdale, Calif., facilities.

Improvements on the F-15SA include fly-by-wire flight controls, a digital electronic warfare suite, Lockheed Martin AN/AAS-42 infrared search and track system and Raytheon APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The forward and aft cockpits are equipped for the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System enabling the crew to aim sensors and weapons through their helmet visors. The aircraft has two additional wing stations for increased weapons payload capacity.