![]() Another major asset to both the F-15C/D and F-15E is the Rockwell-Collins Joint Tactical Information Data System (JTIDS), also known as 'Link 16'. It is also capable of achieving Mach 2.5 (1,900mph). Powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220, providing 23,770lbs of thrust with afterburner, the F-15C/D has a 70,000ft surface ceiling and a range of 2,600 nautical miles. The F-15C Eagle can also carry the AIM-7 Sparrow and is fitted with a General Electric M61-A1 20mm Vulcan cannon in the starboard wing-root. For targets of around 20 miles or more, pilots would select the supersonic Hughes AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), which is a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) weapon. Using the information displayed in the pilot's visor, the pilot does not have to be flying towards the target, but just has to look in its direction before missile 'lock-on' is achieved. The Boeing manufactured JMHCS combines a magnetic head tracker with a display projected onto a pilot's visor, giving the pilot a targeting device that can be used to aim sensors and weapons wherever the pilot is looking. The AIM-9X missile's main improvement over previous AIM-9 models is its compatibility with the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). Using the latest Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, its infrared guidance systems can be used day or night. We would then escort them back towards the Russian border and then we'd head home." Asked about the Icelandic Air Policing role he told us that the squadron had also taken four F-15s to Keflavik, Iceland, but they had never actually had the need to scramble on anyone. Our orders were to scramble, conduct a non-threatening intercept on the contact, pull up alongside it and report back. "I did three scrambles, with two actual intercepts, both of which were IL-20 'Coots' (the Ilyushin IL-20 is a Russian ELINT reconnaissance aircraft), but other guys intercepted a variety of aircraft. So we then stopped all flying here (at Lakenheath) and we did all our flying out there." I asked him about his personal experiences of intercepts during the Baltic Air Policing mission at Šiauliai. We initially took four jets to Lithuania, then we did the big 'plus-up' and took eight more. The air policing in Lithuania is a NATO alert tasking and we were there to make contact with aircraft in controlled airspace, our job being to intercept and visually identify them. ![]() Since joining the squadron here I have flown in the Baltics, Iceland, Turkey (Anatolian Eagle) and Bulgaria (Thracian Eagle 2014). "Having completed my training on the T-6 and T-38, I went to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where all F-15 training is now carried out with the 142nd Fighter Wing, which involved me flying about 70 hours in the aircraft.
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