F-15

also called Eagle, twin-engine jet fighter produced by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation of the United States. Based on a design proposed in 1969 for an air-superiority fighter, it has also been built in fighter-bomber versions. F-15s were delivered to the U.S. Air Force between 1974 and 1994; they have also been sold to U.S. allies in the Middle East and have been assembled under contract in Japan. The F-15 has a wingspan of 42 feet 9.75 inches (13.05 m) and a length of 63 feet 9 inches (19.43 m). It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney or General Electric turbofan engines, which with afterburning can generate from 23,000 to 29,000 pounds of thrust, accelerating the aircraft to more than twice the speed of sound. The single-seat air-superiority version is armed with a 20-millimetre rotary cannon and an array of short-range and medium-range air-to-air missiles. In the fighter-bomber version, known as the Strike Eagle, a weapons officer seated behind the pilot controls the delivery of a number of guided missiles and bombs. The Strike Eagle carried out much of the nighttime precision bombing of Iraqi installations during the Persian Gulf War of 199091.