Posted on 01/29/2011 9:48:21 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Israel is upgrading its thirty 1970s vintage F-15 fighters so that they can use JDAM and other smart bombs, and continue flying for another decade. Israel has 107 F-15s, and all but the 30 oldest ones can already use smart bombs. This additional upgrade effort is partly in response to the growing number of delays in delivering the new F-35. Moreover, the 31 ton F-15A/B/C/D/Is that Israel uses have larger carrying capacity (up to 11 tons, compared to four tons) and range than the 350 F-16s. While the F-16s are Israel's principal combat aircraft, the larger F-15s can still defeat anything hostile neighbors have, but provides more effective service as a fighter-bomber.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
Interesting — Israel has proven to be a deft user of the (beautiful) F-15 in all her guises.
A lot of our allies are buying the new versions of the F-15. It looks like Israel thinks the new airframes aren’t available to her — at least feasibly.
Israel is upgrading its thirty 1970s vintage F-15 fighters so that they can use JDAM and other smart bombs, and continue flying for another decade. Israel has 107 F-15s, and all but the 30 oldest ones can already use smart bombs.Thanks ErnstStavroBlofeld.
The birth of Egyptian civilization on the Nile was fashioned in war, and the kingdom of the Pharaohs was maintained by military force... The army has always been the largest and most important branch of the armed forces. During each of the wars with Israel, the army had demonstrated weaknesses in command relationships and communications. Under the influence of Soviet military doctrine, higher commanders had been reluctant to extend operational flexibility to brigade and battalion commanders. Rigidity in planning was another shortcoming. Commanders reacted slowly in battlefield situations; the system did not encourage initiative among frontline officers.
And we all know that Israel fighter pilots are even better than ours.
This is why they call guys like me (in my 60’s), oldies but goodies. We still work and know how to get the job done!
Obama reportedly refused an Israeli request for the F-15SE.
http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-forum/65542-usa-refused-israel-request-f-15-silent-eagle.html
And as usual Strategypage is liberal with facts. The F-15 A-D variants cannot in practice carry up to 11 tonnes of payload; only the F-15Es can. The air superiority variants would need substantial structural reinforcement to do that.
The F-16I can carry more than seven tonnes of payload.
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