Has an F-15 been shot down?
Despite being in operation for over four decades and serving in the air forces of not just the United States, but also Japan, Israel, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Qatar, no F-15 has ever been shot down by an opposing force.
19/20 January 1991: F-15E-46-MC, 88‑1692, c/n 1101/E076, of the 336th FS, 4th TFW, USAF, was shot down by an Iraqi SA-2E missile during Operation Desert Storm.
According to official releases from Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, the F-15 Eagle has a clear-cut win-to-loss ratio of 104 to zero. But in fact, opposing air forces have claimed, in nearly a dozen cases, to have shot down the iconic, twin-engine fighter. All the claims have one thing in common.
Through careful planning and coordination, two MiG-25 jets successfully caught two American F-15 fighters off guard and engaged them in a dogfight.
| Airframe | Losses | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| F-15E Strike Eagle | 3 | USAF |
| F-16C Fighting Falcon | 5 | USAF |
| F/A-18 Hornet | 2 | USN |
| AV-8B Harrier II | 5 | USMC |
Hellcats were credited with 5,223 kills, more than any other Allied naval aircraft.
The most recent air-to-air kill scored by an American aircraft came in 2017, when a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian-flagged Su-22 as it bombed American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the Raqqa province of Syria.
7) The unbeaten (aircraft that have engaged in significant air combat but never been shot down in air-to-air combat): F-15 Eagle, Sea Harrier, Su-27.
The F-15 is a twin-engine fighter jet capable of extremely high speeds and altitudes, while the F-16 is a less powerful but more maneuverable single-engine fighter aircraft.
In aerial combat, it has a staggering 100 confirmed kills and zero losses. In an earlier report by The EurAsian Times, a USAF pilot had admitted that the 'mighty' F-22 Raptors would avoid a dogfight with Sukhoi Su-35 jets and instead call on the F-15 fighters to tackle the Russian threats.
Which is better MiG 29 or F-15?
The MiG-29's twin RD-33 turbofan engines gave it excellent acceleration and a top speed of Mach 2.25—faster than the F-16 but a bit behind the larger F-15.
Below 200 knots, the MiG-29 has incredible nose-pointing capability down to below 100 knots. The F-16, however, enjoys an advantage in the 200 knot-plus regime. At higher speeds, we can power above them to go to the vertical. And our turn rate is significantly better.
In reality, the MiG-25 was a purpose built interceptor with a very narrow niche role, while the F-15 was designed to be a powerful, all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter aimed to permit the US Air Force (USAF) to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia has lost around 37,870 military personnel, 1,667 tanks and 219 planes in the course of its full-scale military invasion in Ukraine.
Minutes later, both Iranian-launched drones were shot down by Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35s, the first acknowledged operational air-to-air kill for the fifth-generation fighter.
Six MiG-29s were shot down during the NATO intervention in the Kosovo War, three by USAF F-15s, one by a USAF F-16, and one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16. However, one aircraft, according to its pilot, was hit by friendly fire from the ground. Another four were destroyed on the ground.