The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's design in 1967 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force.

The Eagle has been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. The F-15 was originally envisioned as a pure air-superiority aircraft. Its design included a secondary ground-attack capability that was largely unused. The aircraft design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, an improved and enhanced version which was later developed, entered service in 1989 and has been exported to several nations. As of 2017, the aircraft is being produced in different variants.

While some of the F-15C/Ds have been replaced by the F-22 Raptor, there is no slated replacement for the F-15E in its primary "deep strike" mission profile. The Strike Eagle is a more recent variant of the F-15, and has a sturdier airframe rated for twice the lifetime of earlier variants. The F-15Es are expected to remain in service past 2025. The USAF has pursued the Next-Generation Bomber, a medium bomber concept which could take over the Strike Eagle's "deep strike" profile. The F-35A Lightning II is projected to eventually replace many other attack aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II, and may also take over much of the F-15E's role; however, the F-15E has better combat range under payload.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale diecast replica of a USAF Boeing F-15C Eagle multirole fighter that was attached to the Florida Air National Guard, which is based at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Florida, and clad in a 75th D-Day anniversary scheme. Pre-order! Ship date: July 2026.

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "The Sunshine State" - The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a reserve component of the United States Air Force and along with the Florida Army National Guard (FL ARNG), an element of the Florida National Guard. It is also an element of the Air National Guard (ANG) at the national level, falling in with the Army National Guard (ARNG) as part of the greater United States National Guard under the National Guard Bureau (NGB).

As a U.S. Air Force (USAF) organization, the Florida Air National Guard is also part of the USAF's Air Reserve Component (ARC), a position it shares with its "federal" ARC partner, the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC).

As state militia units, the units in the Florida Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. FL ANG units remain under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Florida through the office of the Florida Adjutant General, also known as the "TAG," unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. This jurisdictional model of answering to state, commonwealth or territorial governors applies to all Air National Guard units in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with the sole exception being the District of Columbia Air National Guard, which is under the direct jurisdiction of the President of the United States through the office of the Commanding General, District of Columbia National Guard.