F-15E Spotted with Big Laser-Guided Rocket Arsenal Ideal for Drone Hunting
A photo has emerged showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle loaded with at least three seven-shot 70mm rocket pods under its left wing. If the jet had three more pods on the right side, this would amount to a whopping 42 rockets, which could be carried together with eight traditional air-to-air missiles.
Such a loadout would turn the F-15E into a flying counter-drone and cruise missile arsenal ship capable of an incredible 50 engagement opportunities, minus the gun.
The Air Force has already proven the extreme value of laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets in the air-to-air role in combat on the F-16, news TWZ first broke earlier this year and has continued to follow very closely. Integrating APKWS II into the F-15E’s arsenal isn’t surprising, especially considering how active these aircraft have been in countering lower-performing aerial threats.
The picture of the rocket-armed F-15E first appeared on social media accounts for The Merge, a military aviation podcast and associated newsletter, yesterday. “An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle testing laser-guided rockets was spotted with a 6-pod 42-rocket loadout in flight test,” The Merge wrote in an accompanying post on Instagram.
Though The Merge says the aircraft was carrying six rocket pods at the time, only three are clearly visible in the image on the jet’s left underwing pylon, but a symmetric load makes perfect sense. Pods full of laser-guided APKWS II rockets are relatively easy to spot since the weapons are longer than unguided 70mm types and their noses protrude noticeably from the front as a result. As it exists now, APKWS II consists primarily of a laser guidance section sandwiched between one of a variety of warhead types and a standard 70mm rocket motor.
In addition to the rocket pods, the Strike Eagle has an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) without control fins and a flight test data pod under its left wing. An AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) and an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod (which incorporates a forward-looking infrared sensor and a terrain-following radar) are seen loaded on the stations under the jet’s left and right air intakes, respectively.
The F-15E seen in the picture also has an “ET” tail code, reflecting an aircraft assigned to the 96th Test Wing headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
“I can confirm the pic was taken here at Eglin AFB,”
Gabriel Myers, a spokesperson for the 96th Test Wing, told TWZ when asked for more information about the image of the rocket-toting F-15E.
“The Eglin AFB test community through strong partnerships have aggressively conducted integrated test of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System. By working at speed to ensure advanced capabilities have the intended effects, we increase warfighter readiness and lethality to meet the global demands of the joint force.”
When the F-15E might be cleared to operationally employ APKWS II rockets is unclear.
Source: The War Zone
