WASHINGTON — The F-15E Strike Eagle, which US officials say was shot down over Iran on April 3, is one of the US military’s most advanced dual-role fighter aircraft, designed to carry out both air-to-air combat and deep-strike missions against ground targets.
“As the name suggests, the Strike Eagle is a strike fighter, designed to prosecute time-sensitive targets deep behind enemy lines,” Colby Badhwar, a security analyst with the research group Tochnyi, told RFE/RL on April 3.
He noted that the aircraft has one of the highest payload capacities of any US fighter jet, second only to the newer F-15EX variant, allowing it to carry a large number of precision-guided weapons.
According to the US Air Force, the F-15E can operate day or night, in all weather conditions, and is capable of flying at low altitude to evade enemy defenses. It can reach speeds of up to Mach 2.5 — more than 2,600 kilometers per hour — and has a combat range of roughly 3,700 kilometers.
The aircraft is flown by a two-person crew consisting of a pilot and a weapons systems officer, who work together using advanced avionics, radar, and targeting systems.
A built-in GPS navigation system and digital moving maps in both cockpits allow for precise positioning and coordination during missions.
Equipped with powerful radar and targeting pods, including infrared systems for night operations, the Strike Eagle can identify, track, and strike targets at long distances with high accuracy.
It can carry a wide range of munitions, from precision-guided bombs to air-to-air missiles, as well as an internal 20mm cannon.
First introduced in the late 1980s, the F-15E remains a key part of the US Air Force fleet, with more than 200 aircraft still in service. Its combination of speed, range, firepower, and advanced electronics makes it a central platform for high-intensity combat operations.
