How do you keep the F-15 in the fight in the age of advanced fighters? Add a bunch of missiles to it

by Alex Hollings · July 24, 2018

It’s clear that advanced and stealthy airframes like the fifth generation F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are the way of the future, but it will still be decades before the last of the fourth generation fighters makes their way into retirement. The Navy, aware that their carrier fleet will likely one day be comprised largely of F-35s, is moving forward with plans to upgrade their fleet over Super Hornets into a Block III variant — a refresh on par with the previous one that added “super” to their name, prompting some to refer to these upgraded planes (rather cheekily) as Super Duper Hornets. Call them what you will, it’s clear that the Navy still has a pressing need for capable fourth-generation fighters, and the Air Force is no different.

At one point, the F-22 Raptor, America’s first fifth-generation fighter, was slated to serve as the replacement for the aging F-15 as America’s premier air superiority fighter. The aircraft itself certainly seemed worthy of the challenge, offering stealth, speed, and maneuverability in a single package that many experts contend is the best dogfighting platform on the planet — but a combination of its high price tag and politics saw the program terminated before Lockheed Martin could produce enough of the new aircraft to replace the existing fleets of F-15 Eagles and F-15 Strike Eagles (which serve as multi-role aircraft). With fewer than 180 operational F-22s in service and no more coming, the Air Force finds itself with a problem: how can they make their existing fleet of fourth generation fighters dominant in near-peer level conflict against a nation that has its own fifth-generation aircraft?

About Alex Hollings

Alex Hollings writes on a breadth of subjects ranging from fitness to foreign policy, all presented through the lens of his experiences as a U.S. Marine, athlete and scholar. A football player, rugby player and fighter, Hollings has spent the better part of his adult life competing in some of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. Hollings possesses a master's degree in communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

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Carl C
For fun, I should build me a Fokker D7, put a supercharger on the engine, put twin BB guns firing through the prop, and call it a 149 billionth generation fighter plane. That should scare the crap out of everyone, they will all surrender, and I can rule the world. Bwahahahahahaha!!!
Mason F
A far more worthy recipient of the "Beast Mode" concept than the F-35 concept offered by LM, and arguably a much smarter and capable choice to employ in this manner with F-22's providing targeting solutions.
John C
I've wondered how these two planes worked together whenever I see them leaving the airport here many times. The fly right over my head going out to sea to train. Now it makes sense. I see the T-38's going out with them either before or after the F-22's and F-15's. I'm pretty sure the T-38's are an aggressor squadron.