F-15N | the forgotten 'Sea Eagle'
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What if the F-15 Eagle had gone to sea?
In the early 1970s, McDonnell Douglas proposed a carrier-based version of the F-15 for the US Navy. Known as the F-15N, it promised extraordinary speed, a lighter airframe, and more advanced avionics. But adapting the Eagle for carrier operations meant solving one major problem: how to give it the fleet-defence capability of the F-14 Tomcat.
This is the story of the F-15N: the carrier modifications it would have required, the efforts to integrate the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, and the remarkable F-15N-PHX concept, which could have carried up to six Phoenix missiles.
So why did the Navy ultimately walk away from an aircraft that looked so promising on paper?
CONTENT
00:00 Intro
01:23 Background
06:47 Development
07:49 Advantages
19:20 Additions to the 15N
11:20 Upgrades
14:50 Conclusion
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Some original footage and recreated scenes (using simulators like DCS and War Thunder) may not be 100% accurate to the events depicted but have been used for illustrative and dramatic purposes where archival footage was unavailable or restricted by copyright. We aim to remain as historically accurate as possible given the available resources. Our documentaries are researched, written, fact-checked and edited by our production team. Narration is performed by a combination of human presenters and Charles, our signature digital narrator. Charles reads scripts written entirely by our team and is used to provide a consistent narration style across our documentaries.
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We are three aviation enthusiasts who create documentaries, interviews, and video essays focused on Australian and international military aviation history. Our channel explores the stories of military aircraft, fighter pilots, air battles, and the evolution of air power from WWI to today. We do our own research but are not experts in any particular area, so corrections and suggestions are welcome.