The spectacular 'zoom climb' of a USAF F-15EX Eagle II fighter at Eglin AFB

The F-15 Eagle, operational since 1976, is today the oldest fighter aircraft in the United States Air Force (USAF).

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Despite its many years of service, this excellent fighter remains a formidable weapons system with surprising performance, something it has been demonstrating for decades not only with its maximum speed (Mach 2.45, 2,602 km/h), its flight ceiling (65,000 feet, 20,000 meters) and its range (up to 5,600 km with external tanks), but also with its impressive rate of lift: it can reach a height of 9,100 meters in 60 seconds.

In addition to its design, the F-15 owes this formidable capability to its two Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan engines, which each provide a thrust of 105.7 kN with afterburner. To give you an idea, each of the two engines of a Eurofighter (an aircraft with excellent power) has a thrust of 89.9 kN with afterburner.

The F-15's lift capability led to the creation of an anti-satellite missile, the ASM-135 ASAT, for this aircraft, a program cancelled in 1988 and during which on September 13, 1985, a USAF F-15A, piloted by then Major Wilbert "Doug" Pearson Jr., became the only aircraft to have shot down a satellite, specifically the P78-1 Solwind, launched in 1979, during testing of that missile.

The USAF is currently taking delivery of the most modern version of the F-15, the F-15EX Eagle II, a derivative of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber. The USAF is scheduled to receive a total of 104 F-15EXs to bolster its F-22 fleet in response to the delay in the entry into service of the F-35A. On February 21, an F-15EX from the 53rd Wing based at Eglin AFB, Florida, made a commemorative flight to mark the 50th anniversary of the Streak Eagle Program, a variant of the F-15A launched in January 1975 that achieved eight climb records. After takeoff, the F-15EX performed a spectacular "zoom climb", as it is known in aeronautical terms for a high-speed, almost vertical climb:

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Fotos y vídeo: U.S. Air Force.