Silent Eagle

Boeing updates the F-15

Boeing revealed in late March that it is developing a new variant of the venerable F-15 which it hopes will take on the fifth generation F-35 and a number of 4.5 generation fighters currently on the market. The new model, internally dubbed F-15SE ‘Silent Eagle’, will features a number of design enhancements including various low observable ‘treatments’ and engine intake shaping, conformal ‘internal’ weapons bays, a new EW system, and canted vertical fins.

Under development under a company funded project since last September, much of the hype surrounding the F-15SE has focussed on new build opportunities. But what has been comparatively understated is that many of the features on the F-15SE will also be available as retrofit kits to many of the later build, multirole variants of the F-15 including Israeli F-15I, Saudi Arabian F-15S, Korean F-15K, Singaporean F-15SG, and perhaps most promisingly from a program point of view, the USAF’s fleet of F-15E Strike Eagles.