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While some of the F-15C/Ds have been replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E in its primary "deep strike" mission profile.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-15C Eagle multi-role fighter that was attached to the 65th Aggressor Squadron, 57th Wing, during 2012 and clad in a "Digital Splinter Scheme". Sold Out!

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

Release Date: April 2018

Historical Account: "Splinter Cell" - "Splinter" paint schemes have become a distinguishing feature of U.S. Air Force Aggressors and later appeared on Iranian F-14s (under the name of Asian Minor II camouflage).

The "splinter" pattern is used to make the fighter jet to which it is applied similar to a Russian 4th and 5th generation aircraft. So, the "splinter" color scheme was not introduced to make the jets similar to their Russian adversaries, just to make them more visible.

The 65th Aggressor Squadron is a U.S. Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the 57th Wing and tasked with providing adversary training. The 65th AGRS is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

Originally formed in 1969, the 65th Aggressor Squadron began flying the F-5E Tiger II in 1975. They provided aggressor training to US Air Force fighter crews participating in Red Flag and other exercises at the extensive Nellis Air Force Range. The 65th AGRS flew its last aggressor mission on April 7th, 1989, before being deactivated. Re-activated on September 15th, 2005, as a component of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group, the 65th AGRS is assigned 24 F-15 aircraft, painted in camouflage schemes identical to those observed on Russian-manufactured Su-27 Flanker fighters and operates in conjunction with the 64th Aggressor Squadron, which performs a similar task using F-16s.

On July 30th, 2008, one pilot was killed and another injured when their F-15 crashed into the ground during a training mission.