Nearly a decade before the U.S. Air Force, in a surprise move, tapped Boeing to build potentially hundreds of new F-15EX Eagle IIs—an upgraded version of the five-decade-old classic warplane—there was another new F-15 in the offing. The Silent Eagle was a stealthy F-15. At least, it was as stealthy as Boeing’s engineers could make the big, blocky, twin-engine jet with its radar-reflecting right angles and round engine nozzles.
It’s possible—likely, even—that after a decade some of the Silent Eagle’s advancements have made their way onto the F-15EX. The new Eagle II is not a stealth fighter. But it very likely is a stealthier fighter. And that could matter a lot in wartime.
In early 2008, Boeing realized it had a problem. Lockheed Martin’s single-engine F-35 stealth fighter was scooping up more and more international orders in addition to the Air Force’s own huge requirement—1,700, nominally—for the type....MORE
