For its flying displays at RIAT and Farnborough, the F-15QA carried a notional loadout of 12 AIM-120 air-to-air missiles. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Boeing has showcased the latest variant of the F-15 Eagle with displays at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and the Farnborough International Airshow.
The Qatari-specific F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) Ababil was demonstrated for the first time in the UK during the events in mid-July, with flying and static appearances on both occasions.
The aircraft were en route from the Boeing production facility in St Louis, Missouri, to their future home operating station at Al Udeid Air Base. Once there, they will join the eight of the 36 ordered that have been delivered to 5 Wing, 51st Squadron, to date.
Along with the F-15SA for Saudi Arabia and F-15EX for the US Air Force, the F-15QA improves on earlier models of the Eagle in that it features a number of hardware and software enhancements over earlier variant aircraft.
Specifically, these comprise two additional underwing weapons stations (increasing the number from nine to 11); the option of a large-area display cockpit (Saudi Arabia has not taken up this option); fly-by-wire controls; the Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 or AN/APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array radar; General Electric GE F-110-129 engines; digital joint helmet-mounted cueing systems in both cockpits; and a digital electronic warfare system; as well as other improvements.
Qatar has requested up to 73 F-15QAs, with further orders likely (while 36 is the official programme of record, subsequent media releases by the US government in mid-2020 referred to Qatar as having procured 48 aircraft).
For more information on the F-15QA, please seeBoeing F-15E Eagle .
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