Boeing's Defence division has published footage of the first flight of an upgraded version of an F-15 fighter jet, dubbed F-15QA (Qatar Advanced), on the company's Twitter.
What’s a “Viking takeoff”? Watch as the Qatar Emiri Air Force #F15 demonstrates the maneuver during its first flight. pic.twitter.com/wLHEuvH0Lt
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) April 14, 2020
In the video, the jet can be seen performing a so-called “Viking takeoff” manoeuvre, when a jet uses the power of its afterburner to rapidly gain altitude using extremely high angles right after leaving the runway. In the subsequent 90-minute test flight, the pilot also managed to pull off other manoeuvres, experiencing 9G stress - or nine times the force of our planet's gravity.
Boeing’s advanced Eagle cockpit is very slick. The latest Strike Eagle derivative WSOs finally have a much needed big display for targeting. The F-15C/D Golden Eagle fleet needs this to make the most out of its upgraded capabilities if it is to soldier on for decades. pic.twitter.com/ZdrvaEnyHV
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) January 5, 2018
The F-15QA was developed for the Qatar Air Force, which ordered 36 jets from the Pentagon back in 2017. Boeing, which won the contract to make them, praised the upgraded aircraft as "the most advanced version of the jet ever manufactured".
"The advanced F-15QA not only offers game changing capabilities but is also built using advanced manufacturing processes which make the jet more efficient to manufacture. In the field, the F-15 costs half the cost per flight hour of similar fighter aircraft and delivers far more payload at far greater ranges. That’s success for the warfighter", the official statement read.
The original F-15 was developed by the McDonnell Douglas aerospace company, which later merged with Boeing, back in the 1970s, with the jet being in service for 44 years. It has since undergone numerous upgrades and is not only in service with the US Air Force, but is also used by Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel, South Korea, and Singapore.
