Why The F-15 Terrified The Soviets

More than 50 years after making its first flight, the F-15 Eagle remains one of the most capable fighter aircraft ever developed.

The F-15 was born from the difficult lessons learned during the Vietnam War. In the late 1950s, Air Force planners were confident that the advent of powerful new radars and long-range air-to-air missiles had rendered close-range aerial combat a thing of the past. So fighter jets like venerable the Mcdonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom were not engineered to be light or agile like their predecessors. Instead, they were designed to be heavily-loaded with missiles and carry powerful radars. Their pilots were no longer trained to dogfight, as they would engage the enemy at great distances, well beyond visual range.

But in the Vietnam War, military planners learned the hard way that the age of dogfighting was far from over. American pilots were being downed at alarming rates. The Friend or Foe (IFF) systems designed to identify enemy targets proved unreliable, forcing Air Force pilots to get in close to visually identify targets. At close-range, up against more agile Soviet-built MiGs, the F-4s were at a disadvantage. They were less agile than the MiGs, lacked a gun for close-range combat, and their pilots weren’t properly trained. To make matters worse, 1967, the Soviet Union looked set to unveil what appeared to be a new super-fighter built for extreme maneuverability.

The devastating experience from Vietnam and concerns being outclassed in the skies pushed the United States to develop a new air-superiority fighter that could face off with any current or future Soviet-built fighter. The result would be a twin-engine, high-performance, all-weather air superiority fighter known for its incredible acceleration and agility. Engineered from the ground up for tactical dominance in any air space, the F-15 holds the distinction of over a hundred aerial victories without a single defeat.

Thanks for watching!

[NinjaMan]

It's kind of poetic; the Soviets oversold a jet's capabilities and knew it could never do all the things they claimed. The American D.o.D. took their adversary at face value and so built a jet that could equal or excel their Soviet counterpart. This results in a jet that actually dominates their direct competition. It was a solution to a problem that never actually existed.

[pleasestaysafe]

I am a former F 15 aircraft mechanic while I was in active duty Air Force, then I transitioned over to the KC 135 in the reserve. Thank you my friend. Thank you so much.

[Patriotofliberty]

I once heard. The F-15 doesn’t produce lift. It beats the atmosphere into submission

[thexboxgamer]

This channel is the definition of a great channel on YouTube. No bullshit, just raw facts, amazing animations, historical content and easy to understand. No click bait just quality content from a passionate group of people. Love you guys at Mustard ❤

[Soohjoi]

This dude honestly makes the highest quality documentaries on YouTube. Huge props to you

[jshepard]

What's amazing is that the F-15 entered service in 1976, and we still have new F-15EX aircraft rolling off the line today for service in the Air Force.

[Night_Star]

the f-15 landed with only one wing, shot a satellite, hit a fucking helicopter with a guided bomb, and has a god damn 104:0 kill ratio. Damn what an aircraft

[itsjustme]

I flew the -E for 18 of my 32 years in the USAF. Wonderful machine to this day and I'm so happy that her bloodline is still going strong!

[michaelwilkie]

This channel is the definition of “quality over quantity”.

[davewebster]

The F-14 is the beauty queen, but the 15 is who takes them home. The fact that it still punches above its weight many decades later is testament to how ahead of its time it was.

[Juan-oshs]

When bluffing you enemy goes wrong...
Because your enemy then builds something to counter your bluff.

[GroovyBabyYeah]

It's a good day when mustard uploads

[captain_commenter]

When Mustard uploads, everyone’s lives gets better

[AndHatingIt]

It’s nuts that the US actually fielded TWO air superiority fighters in the F-15 Eagle and F-14 Tomcat at the same time.

[kanesword]

As a current F15 Crew Chief, i can say this has been my favorite fighter since i was 10 years old when it first came out. It's just a badass looking, flying and fighting aircraft.

[jamesmaddison]

My dad flew f4s in Vietnam on weasel missions and eventually the f15 when his unit transitioned to them, flew them till retirement. I remember him telling me people were really hesitant about the f15 until one by one they became hardcore lovers of the 15 after their first flights in them 🤣

[phantomb]

Surprised you didn't mention the training accident where F-15 flew several miles and land with its ENTIRE RIGHT WING MISSING and it stayed in the air due to how powerful the afterburner are on it

[tango_uniform]

Foxbat was designed with the sole purpose of shooting down the SR-71. Viktor Belenko defected and flew his Foxbat to Japan. He eventually made his way to the US and became a citizen. One of the first things he requested was to see an SR-71 up close because he never got to see one before.

[Sean-jvbd]

Something about the f15’s airframe from top down view (6:14) just screams “air superiority fighter”—like the perfect balance between a high speed interceptor and an agile dogfighter. It’s so iconic.

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

My brother flew the F-15 A and B models and was the youngest F-15 instructor pilot in the world at that time. He was with the Triple Nickel out of Luke AFB, AZ. Somehow, two years in a row, he convinced his superiors to let him bring a B model (first year) to Peoria, IL for the little airshow we had there. I was left with the plane during the weekend while people were allowed to walk up stairs and look but not touch, sort of enforced by 12 year old me. The plane carried three external tanks and while impressive, the departure was less than "thrilling." So I mailed my bro a letter and told him it was a "dog."

The next year was very similar, to a point. He brought an A model with one tank. Same story with the air show, my brother hung out in the officer's club and I kept housewives out of the cockpit. After the show was over, the next day, there was some (as I later discovered, B.S.) talk about how the ANG didn't have enough Jet A to top off the plane and he'd have to refuel along the way at a base in TX. Our Mom, sister and I were told to stand on a flatbed trailer out by the end of the runway to see the plane leave. From the right, out of view, my brother got the plane airborne and the gear up. As it became visible, it seemed like it was maybe 50 feet off the deck in level flight, but you really couldn't hear it. Until he got across from where we were standing. Then it was straight up - and the loudest, most powerful noise I've heard in my life. It disappeared into the sky, never leaving the vertical. Even in afterburner, there was little/no visible smoke and it just...disappeared. That was about 45 years ago, but I'll never forget it.