F-15A

The F-15A is the Air Superiority Fighter for NATO. It is identical to its counterpart, the Pact SU-27. Named the Eagle, it first flew in 1972 as a response to the Soviet MiG-25. It was further developed into the F-15C, which began production in 1978, and the two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle, and has been exported to other US-aligned countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Israel.

In-Game Description
The F-15A is armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder heatseeking missiles, giving it a short-range option against air targets. It also carries AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active missiles to give it a standoff, Beyond-Visual-Range capability. Like most American aircraft of its time, it's also armed with a 20mm M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon. As it is designed for air superiority, it does not carry any air-to-ground ordnance. The F-15A wasn't used for suppression of enemy air defence missions; if it were, it would likely fire the AGM-78 Standard Anti-Radiation Missile, a role the F-15's radar in Sky Knights makes it well suited for.

Compared to its opposite the Su-27, the Eagle falls slightly behind in maneuverability but slides ahead in acceleration and speed. This means the F-15 can more willingly perform interception missions, and can better dictate the flow of combat, though a skilled Su-27 pilot might still be able to gain an advantage in a turning fight.

Obtaining
The Eagle is one of the three starting NATO aircraft.

Combat History
The Eagle's development began when the Air Force opted to select a new attack aircraft to replace its older light bomber designs; it was determined that an aircraft would be needed to maintain air superiority for ground strike missions, and such an aircraft would need to have excellent maneuverability, rather than outright speed like the F-4 Phantom. In 1969, McDonnell Douglas' proposal was accepted. It was an F-14, but with fixed wings for greater maneuverability. The Eagle was also to originally use a new 25mm cannon, but development issues caused it to retain the classic Vulcan. The Eagle also boasted improved look-down shoot-down radar as well as computer-assisted flight controls. The Eagle's design was also very aerodynamically stable, so much so that an Israeli Eagle lost an entire wing but was still able to return to base, thanks to wind tunnel research by NASA. The Eagle was also the first, and so far only, fighter to destroy a satellite before that program was terminated in 1988. The Eagle first fired a shot in anger in 1979, in Israeli service against Syria, where one F-15 shot down two MiG-21s and two MiG-25s. It went on to see success against the Syrians, claiming 41 aircraft destroyed. The Israelis also used the aircraft for ground strikes, something that was included as almost an afterthought but not needed by the USAF, thanks to its range. The Eagle flexed its muscles in Operation Desert Storm, downing 36 of the 39 USAF air-to-air victories. It has also been exported to Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea. The F-15 was also developed into the Strike Eagle, a two-seat aircraft which offered substantially improved ground-attack capabilities through additional avionics. The Strike Eagle was used in Operation Desert Storm, mainly tasked with finding Iraqi Scud missile trucks. Strike Eagles downed an additional two fighters, and one Strike Eagle even used a laser-guided bomb to destroy an airborne Mi-8 helicopter. Two Strike Eagles were lost to ground fire, but none to aircraft; in fact, to this day, while Eagles worldwide have destroyed 104 aircraft, none have been lost in air-to-air combat.

Today, while the aging F-15C may be soon retired in favor of multirole aircraft, the F-15E Strike Eagle is still in production, and is slated to remain so until 2022. It currently has the longest production run for any aircraft in history in its country of origin.

Skins
There are currently 4 skins available for the F-15A: Default, Woodland, Desert, and Aerobatics.
 * Default: A grey two-color camouflage skin available to all players.
 * Woodland: A green and grey three-color disruptive camouflage skin available to Patreon supporters of the Captain tier and higher.
 * Desert: A tan and brown two-color disruptive camouflage skin with a grey nose available to Patreon supporters of the Colonel tier and higher.
 * Aerobatics: A red livery skin available to Patreon supporters of the Knight tier and higher.