SAUDI STRIKE EAGLE F-15S

DEVELOPMENT

In 1992 the Saudi Arabian government, impressed by the F-15E's performance in the Persian Gulf war, requested to buy a limited number of export versions.  MCAir's Saudi export Strike Eagle was dubbed the F-15XP (later renamed the F-15S) and, like the Israeli F-15I, was essentially a stripped-down F-15E.  The Israeli government threw a major problem into this sale in September 1992 when they protested the Bush administration's plans to sell 72 of the high-performance warplanes to the Royal Saudi Air Force.  The Israelis insisted that the United States honor its long-standing commitment to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East by not completing the sale.  

In 1993, with all the diplomatic issues settled (at least temporarily), the Royal Saudi Air Force was finally given permission to purchase additional F-15s under the Peace Sun IX program. A letter of offer and acceptance for the 72 aircraft was signed on 10 May 1993.  The value of the deal for the aircraft was put at $5 billion ($70 million per plane), plus weapons, infrastructure etc., for a total of $9 billion. The program included 72 aircraft, 48 LANTIRN pods, 900 AGM-65D/G Maverick missiles, 700 GBU-10 /12 LGB, 600 CBU-87 cluster bombs, 300 AIM-7M Sparrow and 300 AIM-9S Sidewinder air to air missiles, and 24 spare engines. 

SPECIFICATIONS

The F-15S is based on the F-15E airframe however, since many of the avionics on the F-15E are too sensitive for export, the F-15S is fitted with less-sensitive F-15C/D systems.  For the Saudis this also translates to ease of maintenance with their current stock of F-15C parts. The F-15S is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofans. The F-15S has an APG-70 radar that is "detuned" to the capabilities of the APG-63 of and does not have the ability to perform high-resolution ground mapping.  It also has an electronic warfare suite less comprehensive than the F-15E.

Fabrication of the first F-15S began in October 1993, and the first flight was on June 19, 1995. An official roll-out ceremony was held on 12 September 1995, before deliveries to the Saudis (via USAF) began.  The last F-15S was delivered on 10 November 1999.

48 of the F-15Ss are optimized for the air-to-ground mission, with 24 intended for the air interception role. Though the original sales agreement precluded use of CFTs or bomb racks on the F-15S, an agreement in 1997 led to the installation of modified (BRU-28 versus BRU-46/47) bomb racks on CFTs which are slightly different than those on the F-15E.  The RSAF will equip their aircraft with 48 downgraded versions of the Martin Marietta LANTIRN system.  The export navigation pod has different optics and less terrain-following capability while the targeting pod does not have Automatic Target Hand-off System (ATHS) or some targeting software.

F-15S Photos
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Saudi F-15S Serial #s
USAF Serial #	RSAF Serial #	USAF Serial #	RSAF Serial #
93-0852	S-1	93-0888	S-37
93-0853	S-2	93-0889	S-38
93-0854	S-3	93-0890	S-39
93-0855	S-4	93-0891	S-40
93-0856	S-5	93-0892	S-41
93-0857	S-6	93-0893	S-42
93-0858	S-7	93-0894	S-43
93-0859	S-8	93-0895	S-44
93-0860	S-9	93-0896	S-45
93-0861	S-10	93-0897	S-46
93-0862	S-11	93-0898	S-47
93-0863	S-12	93-0899	S-48
93-0864	S-13	93-0900	S-49
93-0865	S-14	93-0901	S-50
93-0866	S-15	93-0902	S-51
93-0867	S-16	93-0903	S-52
93-0868	S-17	93-0904	S-53
93-0869	S-18	93-0905	S-54
93-0870	S-19	93-0906	S-55
93-0871	S-20	93-0907	S-56
93-0872	S-21	93-0908	S-57
93-0873	S-22	93-0909	S-58
93-0874	S-23	93-0910	S-59
93-0875	S-24	93-0911	S-60
93-0876	S-25	93-0912	S-61
93-0877	S-26	93-0913	S-62
93-0878	S-27	93-0914	S-63
93-0879	S-28	93-0915	S-64
93-0880	S-29	93-0916	S-65
93-0881	S-30	93-0917	S-66
93-0882	S-31	93-0918	S-67
93-0883	S-32	93-0919	S-68
93-0884	S-33	93-0920	S-69
93-0885	S-34	93-0921	S-70
93-0886	S-35	93-0922	S-71
93-0887	S-36	93-0923	S-72