F-15E different beneath the skin: twenty-five years of the strike eagle

摘要

NEW WEAPONS, NEW systems and new missions are becoming routine for the US Air Force's Strike Eagle squadrons, as they perform a job that's now getting old in an aircraft that's older: the F-15E. As any airman at the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, can attest, the F-15E wasn't designed as a close air support (CAS) aircraft - after all, it's costly, complex and robust - but new features hidden under the skin are making the Strike Eagle the ground-pounder's best friend. And nobody fosters that friendship better than the 4th Fighter Wing, which makes frequent deployments to Bagram, Afghanistan and other airfields in war zones.