As such, I also spoke to several different groups of people and asked them one (relatively) simple question: “F-15 vs F-22: Which is the better fighter jet?” And the answers were not what you’d probably expect…. The F-15 first flew on July 27 1972, before being introduced with the USAF on January 9 1976. This also saw the introduction of newer, faster and better fighter jets. Assuming you had Congressional backing and you were the military of a US-friendly nation, you could purchase brand new F-15EX for roughly $138 million. However, there are significantly more F-18s than there are F-15s. For most of these countries, they are former aircraft with their air force, however, some are captured F-15s from various militaries. Firstly, the F-22 doesn't have an IRST tracking system, the F/A-18 does. I also interviewed one pilot who’d flown the F-15 for the USAF and the F/A-18 for the US Navy. Required fields are marked *. Although, it was designed explicitly for this purpose. In terms of maneuverability, the F-15 and F-22 are both evenly matched for the most part, with the F-22 being only marginally more maneuverable. As of the time of writing, the price for a single F/A-18 is roughly $66 million, although Boeing will only sell them to militaries of US-friendly nations. Instead, the F-22 served alongside B-52s, as bombers. One of these pilots had been a USAF F-15 pilot/instructor, before becoming a test pilot and briefly flying the F-22. See how Top Gun pilot in F-16C block 50 does against a top German F-4F pilot. They were most likely equal in max speed. This was shown recently when Australia announced that they were selling part of their ageing F/A-18A/B fleet to a private firm in the US. In the late 1970’s, the US Navy was worrying that its ageing fleet of A-4 Skyhawks, the A-7 Corsairs and F-4 Phantoms would make it the subject of Soviet attacks. The F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter used by the U.S. Air Force. The F-15 costs roughly $27,000 to operate per hour. F/A-18EF Super Hornet. During the war, any unauthorized aircraft entering your airspace was immediately a threat and was dealt with accordingly. Eurofighter Typhoon. Tower Air: The US’s Largest Charter Airline. With this, the USAF began to develop new tactics in case of a future proxy conflict or outright war between the US and the Soviets. Your email address will not be published. Assuming you pass the necessary background checks and have the right qualifications and money, you could in theory buy an ex-USAF F-15. In 2009, Lockheed Martin were offering the F-22A Raptor to the USAF for $150 million per aircraft. F-22 Raptor vs Chengdu J-10 F-22 Raptor. F-20 vs F-18 Cold war, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm - up to and including for example the A-10, F-15, Mirage 200, MiG-29, and F-18. With this, Soviet aircraft would regularly stray into NATO airspace in order to test reaction times. Subsequently, the F-18 entered service with the US Marine Corps in January 1983 and the US Navy in July 1984. Although, if you purchased a lot of them, you could negotiate a lower price. This is mostly due to famous aviation movies such as Top Gun having become pop culture icons. Despite being from completely different eras and aircraft generations (with the F-15 being fourth generation and the F-22 being fifth generation) both aircraft have served alongside one another on numerous occasions. Just as with the F-16, the F/A-18 was used to take on Soviet-era Iraqi fighters and to bomb coastal installation in Iraq. The war highlighted that the USAF’s second generation jet fighters were obsolete, and needed replacing sooner rather than later. However, assuming you had the right qualifications and money, you could purchase a decommissioned F-15. 2016-08-25T19:42:39Z The letter F. An envelope. F-15 Vs F-16 Vs F/A-18: The Aircrews’ Perspective. However, over the course of writing this article, I have found myself preferring the F-15 in almost every way. The air supremacy mission is better off in the hands of dedicated fighters and interceptors like the legacy F-15 and the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-22A … A clean -200 Viper would reach VMAX, even if not as quickly as a newer engine. With that being said, there is no consensus on how much it would cost to insure a private F-15. With that being said, I do like the F-15, mostly for the fact that it has proven itself to be the workhorse of the USAF for many years now. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And as they say, the rest is history… However, it is not as clear-cut as the F-14 vs F-15 article. As the planes developed by the US Navy, such as the F-14 Tomcat, were unsuitable for these purposes, the US Air Force spearheaded the F-X program, which led to the development of the F-15A. More importantly, we need to understand why the aircraft were built and for what purpose. In addition, the F-15 is much faster than the F/A-18, being amongst the fastest aircraft in the world. F-22 Raptor vs Sukhoi PAK FA F-22 Raptor. Although not the only conflicts where both the F-15 and F-18 served alongside one another, the major conflicts have been Iraq and Afghanistan. But then again, it is the same model currently used by the USAF, so that probably says a thing or two. In particular, international airshows like RIAT and Oshkosh see F-18 demonstrations from most of these countries! F-22 Raptor vs F-16 Fighting Falcon F-15E Strike Eagle. However, cost is always a fact in these types of things, not just specs! The same was so for the American aerial tactics, costing them billions of dollars in aircraft and numerous talented pilots. Decade ’ s respective specifications, it has a weapons bay designed accordingly be highly modificed make! 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