The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's design in 1967 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force.

The Eagle has been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. The F-15 was originally envisioned as a pure air-superiority aircraft. Its design included a secondary ground-attack capability that was largely unused. The aircraft design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, an improved and enhanced version which was later developed, entered service in 1989 and has been exported to several nations. As of 2017, the aircraft is being produced in different variants.

While some of the F-15C/Ds have been replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E in its primary "deep strike" mission profile. The Strike Eagle is a more recent variant of the F-15, and has a sturdier airframe rated for twice the lifetime of earlier variants. The F-15Es are expected to remain in service past 2025. The USAF has pursued the Next-Generation Bomber, a medium bomber concept which could take over the Strike Eagle's "deep strike" profile. The F-35A Lightning II is projected to eventually replace many other attack aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II, and may also take over much of the F-15E's role; however, the F-15E has better combat range under payload.

Pictured here is a stunning 1:72 scale diecast replica of a USAF Boeing F-15A Eagle multirole fighter that was attached to the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron "Green Dragons", 25th Air Division, then deployed to McChord Air Force Base, Washington. Pre-order! Ship Date: August 2025.

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Green Dragons" - The 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was reactivated by Air Defense Command in May 1947 at Mitchell Field, New York. In December 1947, it was transferred to Hamilton Field, California where it received its first aircraft, P-61 Black Widows which had been pressed into the air defense mission. In the spring of 1948 the squadron received new F-82 Twin Mustangs and in November 1948 moved to McChord AFB, Washington. In the fall of 1950 the squadron transitioned into jet F-94As Starfire Interceptors.

In June 1953, the squadron moved to Thule Air Base, Greenland, under control of the Northeast Air Command. The squadron came back under ADC in August 1954 when it was moved from Thule to Presque Isle AFB, Maine with F-89D Scorpions. In August 1955 the squadron returned to McChord AFB and transitioned into F-86D Sabres, and became part of the 25th Air Division covering the Northwest Air Defense Sector.

In March 1957, the squadron began a transition into F-102A Delta Daggers and three years later in March 1960 into F-106 Delta Darts. On October 22nd, 1962, before President John F. Kennedy told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to Paine Air Force Base at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. These planes returned to McChord after the crisis.

On March 15th, 1963m two Soviet bombers overflew Alaska and Alaskan Air Command F-102s were unable to intercept them. The response to this intrusion was to deploy ten F-106s from the squadron and its sister unit, the 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron to Alaska in what was called Operation White Shoes. However, maintaining these aircraft for an extended period of time put a strain on the 325th wing's combat readiness back at McChord, and eventually a detachment of maintenance personnel was established to maintain the planes in Alaska. The unit got relief from this commitment while it was upgrading its F-106s from the 1st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, which relieved it from March to June 1964. Operation White Shoes terminated in 1965 and the unit's planes returned home.

On March 22nd, 1968, the 318th FIS deployed to Osan AB, Republic of Korea from McChord AFB, WA to provide air defense following the January 26th, 1968, North Korea seizure of the USS Pueblo. This marked the first time in history that Aerospace Defense Command F-106 fighter interceptors had flown to a critical overseas area, using in-flight refueling along with tactical air units.

It returned to the United States after the Pueblo Crisis ended, and flew F-106s throughout the 1970s. The 318th converted to F-15 Eagles in 1983. During its time flying the F-106, the squadron had maintained alert detachments at various times at Kingsley Field, Oregon; Walla Walla Regional Airport, Washington; and at Castle Air Force Base, California. The detachment at Castle was active when the squadron converted to Eagles, but it continued to operate the Delta Dart. Although administratively part of the 318th, it drew its pilots and technicians from the 194th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the California Air National Guard. The squadron remained at McChord until inactivating on December 7th, 1989.