or Eagle
Twin-engine jet fighter built by the Boeing Company .
F-15s were delivered to the U.S. Air Force beginning in 1974 and have been sold to U.S. allies in the Middle East. The F-15 is powered by two turbofan engines that can accelerate it to more than twice the speed of sound. The single-seat F-15 is armed with a 20-mm rotary cannon and an array of short-range and medium-range air-to-air missiles. The fighter-bomber version, known as the Strike Eagle, includes a second seat for the weapons officer, who controls the delivery of missiles and bombs. It carried out much of the nighttime precision bombing of Iraqi installations in the Persian Gulf War .