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While some of the F-15C/Ds have been replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E in its primary "deep strike" mission profile.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 air frame 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 53rd Fighter Squadron, 52nd Operations Group, then deployed to Bitburg AB, Germany, during May 1992. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: September 2021

Historical Account: "Inactivated" - The 53rd Fighter squadron was upgraded to the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle in April 1976. In 1980, more advanced F-15Cs and F-15Ds would replace the original F-15As. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the squadron conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the 1990-91 Gulf War put the F-15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict. The squadron's pilots and aircraft engaged in combat operations during Operation Desert Storm. Not a single F-15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war. In June 1991, the deployed squadron returned to Bitburg.

Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post-Cold War force reductions. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing.

The 53rd Fighter Squadron was relieved from assignment to the 36th Operations Group on February 1st, 1994. It was in non-operations status until it was assigned to the 52nd Operations Group (52nd FW) at Spangdahlem Air Base on February 25th, 1994. At Spangdahlem the squadron supported no-fly zone operations over Bosnia and northern Iraq and other combat operations. It was during the squadron's support of the no-fly zone in northern Iraq that two of its fighters were involved in the 1994 Black Hawk shoot down incident.

The squadron was inactivated in March 1999 as a result of an Air Force-wide reorganization to enlarge F-15 squadrons from 18 to 24 aircraft. Six of the squadron's Eagles were reassigned to the 493d Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, and the rest returned to the United States.