The Plane that Wiped Out the Iraqi Air Force on the Ground

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The Plane that Wiped Out the Iraqi Air Force on the Ground

Рет қаралды 1,067,848

Жыл бұрын

It was April 7, 2003, and the aircraft was flying fast, too fast. Captain Eric Das and Major William Watkins were aboard one of the most sophisticated flying machines ever built, the F15E Strike Eagle, on a desperate interdiction mission to support US special forces fighting at Tikrit, Iraq.
The F15E is capable of Mach 2.5 speeds and is armed with a dozen laser-guided missiles, an APG70 radar to detect any hostile forces from a long range, and two LANTIRN pods that can strike any objective with pin-point accuracy under any weather conditions.
Das and Watkins knew that once there, it was only a matter of seconds before they could locate their targets and drop their ordnance to get the job done.
However, they weren’t ready for the overwhelming anti-aircraft fire surrounding the Iraqi city, and they would have to use every state-of-the-art countermeasure in their arsenal if they wanted to make it out alive…
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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
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Пікірлер: 912

@robmclaughjr Жыл бұрын

One of the greatest examples of when it looks great, it usually flies great. The F15 still looks modern in 2020

@roxuub Жыл бұрын

yeah but at the same time they usually also refit the planes with latest technology with prototype planes and all

@matsv201 Жыл бұрын

I would disagree to that. It really look quite dated next to fighters from the last 25 years. And its not only F35 and F22, but also European fighters. While F15 looks kind of skinny, most moder fighters look quite a bit fatter. While that might not be to veryonce liking, there is a reason for that. Internal fuel and more bypass. Also after that internal bays.

@ScrappyXGC Жыл бұрын

@@matsv201 Saab JAS 39 Gripen looks before it's time and airframe looks modern today and slightly old fashioned. It's undergone a lot of iterations as well. Holy smoke it's short take off!!

@matsv201 Жыл бұрын

@@ScrappyXGC The E/F model looks a bit more modern to me. Its fairly similar to the C/D series, but not quite. The thing is that media pretty much only show the C/D series because there are hardly any video of the E/F series. There are some from Brazil. Its Intresting that the Brazilian E/F and the Swedish E/F come online about the same time

@southernsmoke8391 Жыл бұрын

The SR71 first flew in 1964, five years before I took off from the womb. I’ve aged gracefully while the SR 71 still looks like 10th generation tech.

@mikemontgomery2654 Жыл бұрын

Man, you missed the best part about that Eagle taking out a helicopter during desert storm. The WSO dropped on the helicopter while it was on the ground. To the WSO’s surprise, the helicopter took off. He was able to steer the bomb right through the windshield of the MD500. If I remember correct, that was considered the F-15E’s first confirmed air-to-air kill.

@valannursilva1214 Жыл бұрын

An Israeli F-15 E returned to base without one of its wings, that's insane!

@mikemontgomery2654 Жыл бұрын

@@valannursilva1214 was that an E, or an A? I thought it was an A.

@davidhughes4089 Жыл бұрын

Up there with the downing of a Russian helicopter by Ukraine with an ATGM 😄

@randallmart92 Жыл бұрын

@@valannursilva1214 "He was a fighter pilot they called Solo Wing Pixy" >

@bryangibson2788 Жыл бұрын

INDEED! Crazy lol.

@hourbee5535 Жыл бұрын

The F-15 are simply the greatest warplanes to come into service since WW2. Yeah I said that.

@iwyrilja Жыл бұрын

HELLL YEAH! 104 kills to 0 losses

@lonelystrategos Жыл бұрын

Might well be true, but my favourite American-made jet is probably the F-4 Phantom II, which also has a commendable service record.

@TheWolfsnack Жыл бұрын

....and able to safely land with a wing clipped...

@marcmcfarland1153 Жыл бұрын

That's a fact not an opinion

@lille0le502 Жыл бұрын

F15 is good but F16 is cooler

@steveraabe5276 Жыл бұрын

My son flew the F15E Strike Eagle for eight years. It is an awesome fighter.

@ronjones9447 Жыл бұрын

@Jaybird how come?

@archieherrington9955 Жыл бұрын

@bigwhite21liar

@jamesmedina2062 Жыл бұрын

@@ronjones9447 If you study the aircraft flight and controls, the F15 is like a Nascar racecar whereas the F16 is like F1. Its smaller, nimbler, and has easier joystick control

@ronjones9447 Жыл бұрын

@@jamesmedina2062 my dad use to build the F15 at McDonald Douglas in St. Louis back in the day, he just loved being a part of that factory. He was proud yet a bit disappointed when in joined the navy back in 79, retiring in 99. The power, speed, range and the 100 (or so) to 0 kill ratio makes me love it as well

@jamesmedina2062 Жыл бұрын

@@ronjones9447 Nice. My dad was a young teen during WW2 and loved aircraft, built models, and flew small ones. I had a guy watch me for a while as a teen and his brother flew F-15's in Arizona. So very firsthand knowledge on the speed. I had a lawyer once who was retired F-15 pilot. Its nice they used titanium to build them lighter. The F-15 was first of the dominance fighters conducting kills beyond visual range which is likely why the F-35 is not very maneuverable. I find F-35 flawed in comparison and thats why the F-15E still has its place. So do you know what changes happened due to the merger at McDonnell?

@stevedietrich8936 Жыл бұрын

I served in the USAF during the 1970's and saw the phase out of the F-4 and the introduction of both the F-15 and F-16. Three marvelous aircraft. It's amazing to think that the F-15 first flight was 50 years ago this year, while the F-16 was just two years later.

@ayylmao3617 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service

@AllAmericanGuyExpert Жыл бұрын

Did you see it from your chair?

@nag2129 Жыл бұрын

@@AllAmericanGuyExpert The whole chair force argument is laughable, when we hear ground troops screaming for help over the radio who are the first to get called?

@AllAmericanGuyExpert Жыл бұрын

@@nag2129 Bob Hope and the USO?

@nag2129 Жыл бұрын

@@AllAmericanGuyExpert Never served a day in your life, and if you did and got out early GREAT! Your mentality is not wanted in the forces.

@DotBone89 Жыл бұрын

Maj Bill "Salty" Watkins was my Classmate from USNA and we went through part of flight training together at NAS Pensacola. He started in A-6's, then F-14A's; before transferring to the Air Force and the Strike Eagle. At the time of his death, he had been selected for Lt Col. RIP Classmate.

@Chriserj145 Жыл бұрын

He was an instructor in my squadron at SJ. I launched both "Boot" and "Salty" (I was a Crew Chief at the time) often and I kicked them out of chocks for their deployment from SJ. RIP.

@banone185 Жыл бұрын

Watkins was the weapons officer on MY aircraft. I was on the ground THERE when this happened. I will never forget that evening/day when we all learned of the great lost we had suffered. I still think of him often.

@allee190 Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry to hear your buddy died. My condolences.

@hamhouke Жыл бұрын

I was an AF brat and grew up on Seymour Johnson AFB. We were there through the transition form the F4E to the F15E and on until 1993. They are amazing birds. The conformal fuel tanks are defining featured of Strike Eagle. I have never seen one without them. I didn’t even know they could opt to remove them.

@barry99705 Жыл бұрын

Only for maintenance. They look weird without them. I was stationed there in 95-96.

@hamhouke Жыл бұрын

@@grampsto2 My dad was stationed there for 12 years. I lived there with them from 7 to 17, when I enlisted in the Army and moved away. I didn’t leave the base much, didn’t need to except to go to the mall and school. Most of my friends lived on base, or would come on base to hang out with us. It was a lot easier to get on back then. Goldsboro is still a crappy town, although they have a much higher opinion of the base since the AF threatened to close it. About that time, the locals decided that there would be no economy in Goldsboro without the base and decided they loved having it there. I loved growing up on Shady J.

@ammomeister Жыл бұрын

I deployed with the Strike Eagles to Thumrait after just finishing the Phase 2 exercise in Seymour-Johnson. Worked on the ammo build-up and delivery to the flightline.

@banone185 Жыл бұрын

they most certainly could fly with out them. they were so "defining" because they were the first iteration to have them.

@yourlocalhooligan Жыл бұрын

@@barry99705 they fly to depot without cft's.

@danielshegog4811 Жыл бұрын

I grew up watching the test flight's at the McDonald-Douglas plant in St.Louis. I'm still in awe at the shear, power and ingenuity that went into building that plane

@seanbradley5614 Жыл бұрын

My uncle worked at the plant in the 70s and he gave me a model of the F-15. Still have it more than 45 years later. I remember seeing an F-15 doing a vertical take off just driving by Lambert (I think) one day. I believe it was the only fighter with enough power to do that at the time.

@xant27 Жыл бұрын

Always a pleasure seeing these at Lakenheath.

@ralphlitton8521 Жыл бұрын

I know an A-10 took a chopper as well. Could you imagine what that gun did? I guess he couldn't lock him up, so he used his main gun. The pilot said there was not much left.

@ronjones9447 Жыл бұрын

My dad worked at McDonald Douglas back in the day. He was so proud, when he died I had his ashes divided into 3 separate containers. 1 was to get scattered over his grave 2. Was going to be scattered over his childhood home (yard) 3. They have a F4 on display at NEADS over at the old griffins AFB in Rome NY where I live, I need to call them and ask since the plane is in their fenced in compound. He loved the F15 and F4

@whatisahandle221 Жыл бұрын

McDonnell Douglas didn’t design pretty planes, but they could design and build quite effective ones really well.

@lewiskemp5893 Жыл бұрын

What about the Israel Air Force F15 that landed with HALF A WING after a collision

@ryand.3858 Жыл бұрын

My father met the pilot, he was running a aircraft part refurbishing business here in the US. Apparently he has a plaque from MD with a gold F15 missing a wing.

@samsamaniego3251 Жыл бұрын

I worked on the F-15E's assigned to the 405th, 550th AMU at Luke AFB . I was an jet engine mechanic on the F-15C and when we started to get the E models I was assigned as a crewchief for aircraft 87-197. What an awesome plane , since I was an engine mechanic I was amazed at the improvements of the F100- PW-220 over the old - 100 engines. I retired in 1991 and I miss working on these beautiful F15's .

@7magHunter Жыл бұрын

I bet that was fun!

@CaptRye Жыл бұрын

My dad Flew the F-15E out of luke from 1989-92. wonder if you worked on his plane.

@samsamaniego3251 Жыл бұрын

@@CaptRye I may have. I was the supervisor of the flightline jet engine crew and I was always helping and training other crew chiefs in maintaining and working on the - 220's. Oh how I miss working on the Flightline with F-15E's and for those of you that remember..... the 'RED BALL ' . I also worked on the F-15C and D models with the 461st JESTERS prior to being reassigned to the 550th in '88 just before we started receiving the F-15E's.

@markchapmon8670 Жыл бұрын

A comment or two on the Streak Eagle would have been nice. As I recall, in the effort to set a new time-to-climb record, this F15 had no paint, thus taking a few hundred pounds of weight off. Then, it was held in place by it's tail hook until the engines were stabilized in full afterburner. It was an awesome sight to see!

@scottgorman7166 Жыл бұрын

I remember that day. Incredible

@nooneyouknowhere6148 Жыл бұрын

They put a tail hook on it? I know thd original plan was for the 15 to be used by the navy as well, but it had a lot of trouble landing on carriers due to it lifting too much while landing at sea.

@yourlocalhooligan Жыл бұрын

@@nooneyouknowhere6148 all f-15s have tail hooks. For emergencies only.

@nooneyouknowhere6148 Жыл бұрын

@@yourlocalhooligan ok. Did not know that. I researched the 15 in the 1980's and knew they originally intended it to be used by the navy as well as the air force but it had trouble landing on carriers due to the lift effect of the design. It tries to stay airborne.

@jcost0099 Жыл бұрын

At Nellis in 88-91, I worked Type IV F-15 PMEL. LANTIRN was one of the systems I cal'd back then. It was incredible then and we were seeing the results coming in from Tonopah and other ranges before Gulf War. The writing was on the wall that air dominance was to be ours.

@bbmw9029 Жыл бұрын

I'm surprised the F-15EX wasn't mentioned. This is essentially a newer version of the F-15E that the US is buying to replace old F-15C/Ds that are aging out.

@kaijenkins4513 Жыл бұрын

Some would argue that the F-15EX (including other Advanced Eagles) is a variant of it’s own.

@bbmw9029 Жыл бұрын

@@kaijenkins4513 It's really an update of the E. But it's closely enough related, and likely to be performing a lot of the same missions, that it's worth a mention.

@Likeaworm Жыл бұрын

The sensor fusion is what separates the EX from past models

@josephgriffin2388 Жыл бұрын

As a carrier vet, this plane has been bad ass since I was a kid. I had the privilege of working around F 14, F 18 and A6 Intruders. Buy the Eagle remains.

@erichkorman710 Жыл бұрын

The problem with our Air Force is a lot of it has been in service since before you were a kid. We still fly decrepid B-52s built before most grandpas were kids. The USAF says we are at least ten years behind Russian tech. As for the ancient Eagle a combat-ready 1968 Mig 25 hit Mach 3.2, twice the speed of the later F15 and outfly it's .50 caliber bullets on the afterburners. An F15 pilot would get a glimpse of the Mig contrail from his parachute.

@arthurbrumagem3844 Жыл бұрын

I have no clue which plane is really the best but I do know watching F4s coming in on a bombing run ( napalm as well ) to help us in heavy combat in Vietnam was a pretty awesome sight

@mikeelder6298 Жыл бұрын

My dad used to work on F-4s and I've sat in the cockpit many times. My dad was stationed at Zweibrucken Air Station Germany in the early 70s, I went to school at a nearby Army post and the F-4s would break the sonic barrier and the glass in the window panes would rattle violently. I was stationed at Lackland AFB TX and lived in an apartment complex across the street from Kelly AFB in the early 80s and I saw many things come into Kelly, like the Space Shuttle on the back of a 747, President Reagan landed at Kelly and also witnessed F-15s landing at Kelly AFB

@A7XKoRnRocks1 Жыл бұрын

F-15 in general has to be the best aircraft ever made so far.

@Blovi-qd4lh Жыл бұрын

Pretty old airframes and tech. F-18F superior. Plus not Cat5 aircraft….F-22, F-35….

@A7XKoRnRocks1 Жыл бұрын

@@Blovi-qd4lh Superior in tech doesn't make it better in the sense that of all the combat sorties the F-15 has been in, it has never been shot down.

@shadowopsairman1583 Жыл бұрын

@@Blovi-qd4lh ahem F-15EX

@Blovi-qd4lh Жыл бұрын

@@shadowopsairman1583 ahem…the EX is a proposal from Boeing…probably won’t be made. What the USAF ‘needs’ is a viable Wild Weasel aircraft. F-16CJ is a stopgap. For the Weasel to be viable and effective in the multi sensor environment, pretty much needs a back seater. F-18G….

@Blovi-qd4lh Жыл бұрын

@@A7XKoRnRocks1 great news but that conflict was also over 20 years ago. Hasn’t been a large scale air war since.

@stoopingfalcon891 Жыл бұрын

I served aboard HMS Ark Royal back in the day, and she was equipped with Phantoms, Buccaneers, and Gannets. I was astonished the first time I watched flying exercises with the Phantoms. Man they were big beasties. It was amazing watching the night time flyexes too, watching them light up their 'burners just before catapulting and the deck flaps diverting the exhaust into the sky.

@kevinkirk4285 Жыл бұрын

I was stationed at Luke AFB when the first F-15E arrived there. Tail number 86-0186 was the fourth production F15E built but the first to be delivered to the USAF. The Strike Eagle testbed was 71-0291, the final unit of the original 12 prototype airframes. I love my Eagles. I've had an on/off, love/hate relationship since 1986 and still maintain them as an overseas contractor.

@Chriserj145 Жыл бұрын

I crewed 6186 for six years at SJ.

@aaronpelloat6409 Жыл бұрын

860186. 334th Fighter squadron. Worked on it many times. E&E troop

@Chriserj145 Жыл бұрын

@@aaronpelloat6409 It used to be in red. When I crewed it, it was the wing king bird.

@samsamaniego3251 Жыл бұрын

@kevinkirk4285 I too was at Luke with the 550th my birds tail number was 87-197 I believe it was the 5th or 6th plane to arrive and that's when I went from flightline engine supervisor to the added title of crewchief of 87-197.

@DOGosaurus_rex Жыл бұрын

the mighty eagle 🦅🦅🦅

@pixytorres7117 Жыл бұрын

You wiped out a 3rd world country that has cave fighters and you're proud lol.

@thewaywardgrape3838 Жыл бұрын

F-15 & F4 Phantom are surely the iconic 'fighter jet' that people think of. Elegant pieces of Engineering!

@MoctezumasRevenge1 Жыл бұрын

*F14

@jaffacalling53 Жыл бұрын

Hard to call the F-4 "elegant". More like a brick with turbojets attached.

@mark675 Жыл бұрын

Spoken like a true self centred American 🙄

@thewaywardgrape3838 Жыл бұрын

@@mark675 Actually Scottish and it was just my opinion....should of known it'd ruffle some feathers lol

@slartybarfastb3648 Жыл бұрын

@@mark675 Why, what do you think of when you think of a jet fighter? It better not be American.

@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu Жыл бұрын

You can make that black electro mag paint by using old VCR cassette tapes.

@the80hdgaming Жыл бұрын

I believe you can use ferrofluid as well...

@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu Жыл бұрын

@@the80hdgaming Maybe, but that's pretty heavy.

@MRptwrench Жыл бұрын

Almost any channel can create a decent video about this machine, the F-15 E Strike Eagle specifically, due to the amount of declassified info, stock video, and it's battle history. But only Dark Skies can give me a video about a machine I think I know a little about and still give me goosebumps. You guys rock. I gotta add that when current conversation comes around to war with aggressive, expansionist Dictatorship China, I personally don't give too much credit to their warehouse of war tech. Pilots. The West has veteran pilots who have flown varied missions. The F-35 Lighting II is just a tool. Our pilots are the best in the world.

@tokyosmash Жыл бұрын

F15’s will forever be the dopest combat jet.

@loginavoidence12 Жыл бұрын

back in the mid 2000s i lived in one of those hardened aircraft shelters saddam had built to protect his air force. they didn't work out so well against modern ordinance. some had skylights. we made a plywood shanty town inside with 5/8" pine sheet and shipping containers

@pegcity4eva Жыл бұрын

Crazy. Thank you for sharing.

@zfotoguy71 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service.

@fockingclassy Жыл бұрын

Was that at TQ?

@frankieascedo519 Жыл бұрын

Love the F 15 but you skipped the part were the nose cone fatigued quickly and started to fall off. So they needed emergency redesign to keep them active.

@larryjohnson7591 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for filling me in on the F-15E! I saw them flying, but no one would talk about them. Now I know.

@chuckybaby1973 Жыл бұрын

I just subscribed because the quality of the show and in-depth information is unmatched. The details regarding missions and so forth brought this old soldier back to many memories. Thank you.

@Ammo08 Жыл бұрын

"Blow up what is down, and shoot down what is up..." We all wanted our wing to get these when we got rid of the F4-Es, but we ended up with F-15A models, some of which were older than our F-4Es.

@RayBecker Жыл бұрын

As a Navy guy, I will tell you that the F-15E was the best all around aircraft in our inventory. Yes, we had the F-14 Tomcat but the Eagle was better in ground support.

@JRGProjects 11 ай бұрын

Still as a fellow Navy guy, I'd take F/A-18F over a F-15EX any day of the week. Sure the F-15EX may have ammo and radar but we have dogfighting capabilities which will come in handy against more conventional opponents like Russia or China. Besides our fellow Navy boys are trained for it, unlike our Chair Force friends.😅

@potatosuc4950 10 ай бұрын

@@JRGProjectsthe fa18f is not a dogfighting plane… the f15ex is just as good if not better

@Ender7j Жыл бұрын

I worked on the E model for ten years and it was an experience I’ll never be able to top.

@brianloomis9351 Жыл бұрын

Great video! The evolution of the F15 shows how well the plane was designed. And I liked the F4 footage snuck in at app 11:15.

@VNV67 Жыл бұрын

The F-4 Phantom was a very loud plane. I remember them taking of from Long Bein and across the Ammo Dump. Something that was hard for a Army guy to get use to.

@Rio.Motel.84 Жыл бұрын

I lived next to a German airforce base flying F-4, these things are so loud I had to pause conversations on a phone call till they flew past.

@Wildstar40 Жыл бұрын

When ever anyone talks about the F-15 or anything related to the F-15 there should be a side mention about the time a F-15 collided with a A-4, lost a wing and still made it back to base.

@AllanSitte Жыл бұрын

I worked on the F15E engines at Luke AFB back in the early 90s. Pratt and Whitney F100-220 and F100-229 engines are a dream to work on. Great engines and great airframe. The acceleration that airframe could achieve with a full armament package of was phenomenal.

@SpaceAudio Жыл бұрын

Probably the best air superiority fighter ever built.

@davidjones8942 Жыл бұрын

The record is something like 198-0. The ONLY F-15 ever shot down by another aircraft was shot down by an opposing F-15.

@VOX471 Жыл бұрын

I would say F22 is #1 and F15E a very close 2nd.

@allee190 Жыл бұрын

@@VOX471 You are correct.

@hawkertyphoon4537 Жыл бұрын

I See F-15 , i upvote! Like the Phantom that came before, It is one Hell of a Machine.

@bravedirtyhawk5912 Жыл бұрын

Gonna wake up and go work on one of these bad boys tomorrow… so cool I get to say this

@guadalupealvarado9623 Жыл бұрын

104 kills no losses

@potatosuc4950 Жыл бұрын

that was the f15c

@slartybarfastb3648 Жыл бұрын

@@potatosuc4950 All F-15s. F-15E has air-air kills with no losses also.

@potatosuc4950 Жыл бұрын

@@slartybarfastb3648 it bombed a helicopter and got shot down like twice by sams

@Primus54 Жыл бұрын

@@potatosuc4950 You do understand that getting shot down by SAMs is not an air-to-air defeat, right? 🙄

@potatosuc4950 Жыл бұрын

@@Primus54 but it has never fired a missile at another aircraft, only f15cs have done that

@stevenlarratt3638 Жыл бұрын

I sware the RAF Tornado's played a major role in taking out the Air force...

@davidgriffith8292 Жыл бұрын

Yes but that truth requires acknowledgment that it wasn’t just the US forces in Iraq etc. F15 still an amazing aircraft.

@Then.72 Жыл бұрын

They certainly did the lower & faster level attacks

@davidgriffith8292 Жыл бұрын

They did especially using the JP233 runway denial system.

@383mazda Жыл бұрын

Hey, I noticed some Streak Eagle footage around the 4:10 mark. I only know that cause my granddad was one of the 4 pilots, and there he was at sitting at the table at 4:13, lol.

@ohger1 27 күн бұрын

"Streak" Eagle?

@383mazda 27 күн бұрын

@@ohger1 Yes, Streak (not strike). They took an early F-15A off the assembly like and "built" it for the time-to-climb records. They deleted / left off everything not needed for the flight(s), stuff like the radar, gun, flaps, redundant hydraulics, even the paint. They also tuned up the engines. For takeoff they chained it down to the runway using the tow hook attachment, went full afterburner until just the right amount of fule was left (within a few hundred LBS) then blew the chain off the airplane with an explosive bolt. The plane was airborne in around 4 seconds, and supersonic in under 30 seconds (while climbing). It broke every record it attempted (I think altitudes were 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20, 25 and 30k meters). Took the records from F4 and Mig 25. It was essentially a "muscle plane" built for vertical drag racing, lol. It's big claim to fame was that it was faster to altitude than the Saturn 5 rocket! Edit: the original footage is on youtube (search f15 Streak eagle).

@ohger1 26 күн бұрын

@@383mazda Thanks, didn't know that!!

@KarmaVA Жыл бұрын

Boot and Salty were huge parts of my childhood at Seymour-Johnson. My father was a fighter pilot and last minute was pulled from that deployment so he could stay behind and be a flight instructor for the incoming class of fighter pilots. I miss them every day. I hugged Boot so tightly during his going away party, like I knew I was never going to see him again.

@Jake-yx7ct Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your very clear narration with the facts .

@Desire123ification Жыл бұрын

One of the best air superiority fighters, possibly second only to the Raptor.

@glamdring0007 Жыл бұрын

The Viper would like a word...

@SpecJack15 Жыл бұрын

@@glamdring0007 If you ever saw the F-15 in a DACT exercise you'd know. The Eagle can out-rate a fighter even smaller than the Viper.

@notthatdonald1385 Жыл бұрын

IMO the F-4 was the _loudest_ freakin' aircraft I was ever near. F-14 was loud too, but that Phantom kicked out a lot of decibels!

@Bdub1952 Жыл бұрын

I was stationed at Korat Thailand supporting the F-111A's in '75 and I can attest to that fact.

@CarpeDiemComics Жыл бұрын

With the F4 it was those giant freaking engines necessary to make the brick fly ;)

@Gunjack1440 Жыл бұрын

Definitely…..grew up near a main stay for the f-111s. Loud as hell

@SpecJack15 Жыл бұрын

The F-35 joke-of-a-fighter takes the cake now.

@vortexgen1 Жыл бұрын

The F-15 manufacturing line has never stopped producing F-15s in one form or another since it built the first one way back in the 1970s.

@jasonmurdoch9936 Жыл бұрын

You forgot the f-14s as well well at least the later versions of them

@FortuneZer0 Жыл бұрын

F-15 best plane. F-15EX T-Posing on the virgin competition.

@joeybloey3631 Жыл бұрын

4:11 Fun fact: Famous comedian John Candy (rip) started out as an Air Force pilot.

@sulufest Жыл бұрын

Oh gheez lol. I was wondering 🧐💭 if you were sorely mistaken at first bc I didn’t see your time stamp. Actually looked it up…. There was a John Candy in the RAF, who was a WW1 ace. Lol

@joeybloey3631 Жыл бұрын

@@sulufest 🤣

@josephpadula2283 Жыл бұрын

Fun fact: PeeWee Herman’s dad was a WWII fighter pilot. He flew surplus German ME 109’s in Israel against Egypt in 1948!

@michaelmixon2479 Жыл бұрын

What was the problem with taking out the Mig-29's?

@justinhaslam-lucas8711 Жыл бұрын

Great as ever

@lieutenantkettch Жыл бұрын

Amazing that this aircraft started out as an air superiority fighter backed by the "Not one pound for air-to-ground" cabal, but evolved into one of the finest strike aircraft ever built.

@jyy9624 Жыл бұрын

And started a trend

@fatfreddyscoat7564 Жыл бұрын

You can keep your F22 and F35: for me this will always be the most beautiful and awesome fighter plane ever created.

@marcellucianmorcan1988 Жыл бұрын

@demirbasdemir70 Жыл бұрын

Great video Mr Felton, just not sure about the disco background..İs this the future of war documentaries?

@blackopscw7913 Жыл бұрын

This is not a Mark Felton video

@seangelarden9543 Жыл бұрын

Was watching a pair do touch and gos in San Juan last week, big bird of freedom!

@intrepid101 Жыл бұрын

Eagles delivering Freedom, sounds familiar.

@darwindominguez13 Жыл бұрын

so much freedom..

@mark675 Жыл бұрын

Cringe

@III1IlIIlIllIl Жыл бұрын

@@mark675 cope🤓

@mark675 Жыл бұрын

@@III1IlIIlIllIl fall in line peasant

@792slayer Жыл бұрын

Taking out one pickup with a JDAM is the most 'Murica thing ever.

@daflotsam Жыл бұрын

The music at the beginning of this took me back to the 90's when watching Wings on the History Channel.

@andygonzales7380 Жыл бұрын

Great video! Informative. The Strike Eagle rocks! 😎

@ek2156 Жыл бұрын

I'm a big fan of all US military aircraft. I am hard pressed to pick the F-14 or F-15 as my favorite. I wish the F-14 would have gotten a face lift so they could have remained in the USN longer.

@tambosnipes1652 Жыл бұрын

Im wondering why they didnt extend the f14 life span but im guess it was to ecpensive to operate per hours

@Chaos8282 Жыл бұрын

Someone else is excited about the new DCS module XD

@iwyrilja Жыл бұрын

YES!!!

@snowman333- Жыл бұрын

back in the 1980's they used an E for anti-sat missile development, at the time it was a specially redesigned C model since it was a two seater.

@Dan007UT Жыл бұрын

Didn't realize how big/tall they are until I saw one at the Hill AFB museum

@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13 Жыл бұрын

I play these videos at 1.25x speed... For the nostalgia.

@taylortevebaugh5146 Жыл бұрын

Would be interesting if they added the F35 Enhanced Optical Targeting System under the nose to replace LANTIRN system.

@shadowopsairman1583 Жыл бұрын

There are others that have no need to be discussed here, Opsec.

@danielescobar7618 Жыл бұрын

@@shadowopsairman1583 I've never seen an airman be more boot than this comment.

@danielescobar7618 Жыл бұрын

Some future f-15fx model

@wesadams5128 Жыл бұрын

Love seeing these buzz around everyday

@flylippfantom8425 Жыл бұрын

I worked for Pratt Whitney as a pipe fitter running large fuel lines to the outdoor covered building where they ran those engines almost all day full power

@DTX_AEther_Diamond_214 Жыл бұрын

F-15 Eagle 🦅 🇺🇸 🌌

@philsharp245 Жыл бұрын

good murder, bad murder. good machines to kill, bad machine to kill......

@B-leafer Жыл бұрын

What's better than the f15E? The f15EX... What's better than that? A hundred of them! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

@josephsmith6777 Жыл бұрын

The f15 in various configurations is still being produced today

@namepending155 Жыл бұрын

I thought the old F-111 aardvark took out the most armor in the first gulf war.

@roberthill3207 Жыл бұрын

Libya in the late 80s .

@sulufest Жыл бұрын

Yes, more so than the A-10.

@SoloRenegade Жыл бұрын

the title was about taking out the Iraqi Air Force on the ground (planes not tanks).

@Burkutace27 Жыл бұрын

@@SoloRenegade The varks hit a lot of airbases too.

@SoloRenegade Жыл бұрын

@@Burkutace27 but that wasn't the issue. the misunderstanding was thinking the F-15E took out the most tanks. If you have data to prove the F-111 took out the most aircraft on the ground, do share. Otherwise, stop making excuses for others, it doesn't reflect well upon you.

@robluke4578 Жыл бұрын

RB: Really well-done, my friend...

@willisswenson3843 Жыл бұрын

Left out. An Israeli pilot was flying a F-15(I don’t remember the exact circumstance) and was hit by a middle. It literally blew the whole right wing off. The pilot lost control spinning wildly. He remembered the Eagle had the thrust to be a missile so he put the throttle in wide open and the plane stabilized. He was able to fly back to base in Israel and land. He couldn’t see it, but once he landed the ground control noticed something pretty amazing. The whole right wing was gone. A plane that can fly 1800 mph. With only one wing. Needless to say but the designers and engineers were in Israel the next day. Now there’s a F-15X that can carry 22 AIM air to air missiles and serve as a flying magazine for the F-35. Damn, we are good.

@punishedsneed Жыл бұрын

Couple things. F-15Es don't use laser guided missiles. They CAN use Mavericks but given their mission profiles, they don't. They've stopped using Mavericks since. They use laser guided and GPS guided bombs. They don't use two LANTIRN pods. They use the NAVFLIR with the terrain following radar built into the pod. They used LANTIRNs early on and in the mid 2000s, they used LITENING targeting pods briefly as a stopgap and then they have only ever used SNIPER targeting pods since then.

@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST Жыл бұрын

I love how they look back through the canopy as if they're flying a combat Jeep or something! 😅

@johnpaulbacon8320 Жыл бұрын

Great video.

@mikeeihusen5194 Жыл бұрын

GREAT VIDEO

@davidelzinga9757 Жыл бұрын

Every now and then a couple F15s will do an exercise or refuel for a nearby airshow at the airport a couple miles from my home. They are so loud that the ground shakes. Been one of my favorite places since childhood

@angeldump1three Жыл бұрын

A T-Rex flying an F-15. Iykyk.

@contrail25 Жыл бұрын

The fist of justice resurfaces in the thumbnail! lmao

@californiahighdesertpreach2261 Жыл бұрын

The F 15 Eagle is the best fighter and my fav Jet.

@thudthud5423 Жыл бұрын

McDonald Douglas: "The F-15A fighter plane is to be an air superiority aircraft, not ground attack. NOT A POUND OF AIR TO GROUND." F-15E: "Bah! Humbug! Watch me ruin Christmas for the bad guys on the ground!"

@Kaget0ra Жыл бұрын

I love your narration style.

@eaglekeeper8947 Жыл бұрын

I was stationed at Bitburg Air Base…Eagle crew chief…was first to scene when a pilot buried his Eagle at the end of the runway…flying touch and goes…before an air show at Spangdahlem Air Base…June ‘79

@nickmail7604 Жыл бұрын

I didn't know the Phantom ever had a gun or Canon during the period covered by the Vietnam war. I was always led to believe that the one thing Phantom pilots regretted was not having a gun, or Canon.

@theresaherman Жыл бұрын

Old guy here. My understanding was that the Phantom didn’t have a gun because the thinking at the time was that the future of jet warfare,ie dogfighting would be missiles only, and that a gun would be useless, that is not needed. I assume that in the early stages of Vietnam war, the failure rate of the missiles on the Phantom ran as high as 20%, and some pilots complained about it where a gun would have made the kill. Later versions of the Phantom had a gun mounted on it. The series “Dogfights”, on the History Channel and later available on KZfaq, talked about this problem in greater detail, in season 2 of said series. If you saw the original Top Gun, Commander Heatherly, callsign Jester, talked about Navy kill ratio in Korean War was 12:1, but later in Vietnam, kill ratio dropped to 3:1. He said pilots had become too dependent on missiles. Part of the problem was that the failure rate of the Phantom’s missiles, Sidewinder and Sparrow, coupled with having no gun, contributed to drop in kill ratio. Of course, the extra training in tactics of air combat maneuvering, combined with more reliable missiles, and the addition of a a fuselage mounted gun did bring the kill ratio back up before the end of the Vietnam War.

@nickmail7604 Жыл бұрын

@@theresaherman absolutely, couldn't agree more with what you have written, however the chap does say early in the film clip that the Phantom had a gatling type gun or Canon, which was news to me, I'm quite a old chap as well and remember with fondness jets like the Phantom, that's why I made my comments.

@et3737 Жыл бұрын

It’s unfortunate the f-16 XL never became a reality

@michaelgautreaux3168 Жыл бұрын

Mud hens! Many thanx 👍👍

@vincedibona4687 Жыл бұрын

To this day, the f51 Steak Angle looks modren.

@MrMalvolio29 Жыл бұрын

PS Is the F-15E Strike Eagle one of the aircraft in the USAF arsenal slated to be replaced by the F-35 Lightning II?

@miller496 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful platform. Must be a dream to drive.

@346UNCLEBOB Жыл бұрын

Good video (as usual) but please, PLEASE loose the "music"!

@quill444 Жыл бұрын

Yes, that _gawdawful_ background music is tantamount to a war crime! 🤬 🔇 ⏸ - j q t -

@JustANormalMan-et1jo Жыл бұрын

Nice video! Though the f-15 didn’t replace the f-111 project and F-5 it was actually replaced by the F-14A (sources from Wikipedia)

@cdbtheclaw Жыл бұрын

The Eagle taking out the helicopter was not a simple air to air kill. They dropped a 2000lb laser guided bomb on the helicopter while it was in flight!

@mclarenscca Жыл бұрын

One of the best planes ever!

@alanmcneill2407 Жыл бұрын

Any enemy should have shivers run down their spine if they know one of these planes are in the area. They have been beefed up in last three years to meet any tech improvements of the enemy, although they do not have the stealth of the newer planes, they are still extremly dangerous, and they are nearly 40 years old!!! Hats off to MacDonald Douglas for creating such a versatile and effective replacement for the F 4 Phantom, and the wisdom of building such an Iconic and enduring design....we live in freedom, today, partly because this plane was and still is, so frightening in its ability.

@MrMalvolio29 Жыл бұрын

Why didn’t this video-unlike most of your brilliant work--eventually return to and finish the opening anecdote? I wanted to know what happened to those F-15 Strike Eagle crews trying to overcome the unexpectedly challenging antiaircraft system of Tikrit in Iraq.

@lesliel1182 Жыл бұрын

Oh cool! Pinpoint ordinaces, think they meant "pinhead" didn't they. Something I'll never forget watching that they broacast on Tell-a-vision and how I had to go and throw up.