The F-15 Eagle, with an incredible record of 104 kills and zero losses, plays a critical role with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA announced on January 15 that it had acquired two retired USAF F-15 jets and delivered them to the flight research fleet at its Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
According to the announcement, NASA is shifting these jets from military use to a new job where they can help drive major breakthroughs in aerospace research.
The variant of the Eagle acquired by NASA is the F-15D from the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field. The two jets, with numbers AF 81-0063 and AF 84-0045 (as seen in photos), arrived at NASA Armstrong on December 22, 2025.
The F-15D is a twin-seater variant of the air superiority aircraft and was introduced as an enhancement over the F-15B in 1979.
The USAF has retired most of its F-15C/D fighters from active service as it slowly bolsters its airpower with more advanced F-15EX Eagle II jets. However, a small number of F-15Ds are still in service with the Air National Guard units and the Air Force Materiel Command, where they are used for test and evaluation.
Notably, the two F-15D aircraft acquired by NASA will assist with supersonic flight research for the Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities project.
This includes testing for the QueSST (quiet supersonic research aircraft) X-59, a groundbreaking experimental supersonic aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division in partnership with NASA. The aircraft reportedly took its maiden flight on October 28, 2025, and is poised to make supersonic commercial travel a reality.
Typically, when an aircraft goes supersonic, or travels faster than the speed of sound, it generates a loud thunder-like sound, also called the sonic boom.
However, the X-59 is envisioned as a revolutionary aircraft that would be able to fly supersonic without generating that painful boom, which is banned in the US (for civilian aircraft) due to the disruptive impact.
The project is moving forward in phases. With the initial phase now complete, the team has finished the first stage and is ready to move on.
After the maiden flight, the aircraft was planned to be moved to the Armstrong facility, where Skunk Works would collaborate with NASA to increase the aircraft’s flight envelope, which essentially refers to gradually increasing speed, altitude, and maneuvers.
At the time, NASA said that testing will be centred around the X-59’s initial supersonic flights, in which the aircraft reaches the ideal speed and altitude for a silent boom.
This is where the F-15 comes in.
NASA states that one of the two jets will be used for flying as an active NASA research aircraft, whereas the other will be used for parts to support long-term fleet sustainment.
“These two aircraft will enable successful data collection and chase plane capabilities for the X-59 through the life of the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project,” Troy Asher, director for flight operations at NASA Armstrong, was quoted as saying in the NASA press statement. “They will also enable us to resume operations with various external partners, including the Department of War and commercial aviation companies.”
NASA will modify the two planes by tweaking their flight controls, systems, and even software to ensure they’re ready for the mission. Additionally, the F-15D’s ground clearance is a game-changer, enabling NASA researchers to install instruments and experiments that wouldn’t be feasible with most other aircraft.
By serving as chase planes, the F-15s will support flight testing of the X-59. They will likely be used to monitor critical parameters and provide an added layer of safety for the X-59.
Additionally, the F-15 could collect in-flight data on shock waves and pressure changes using specialised instrumentation, including shock-sensing probes. It could also relay the data to ground stations in real time, although NASA did not elaborate.
F-15’s Utility In NASA
Originally designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing), the F-15 is a single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fighter jet that was built to counter the USSR’s MiG series of fighters during the Cold War.
Interestingly, the F-15 is still among the fastest and most versatile fighter jets ever built, five decades after its debut.
In 1988, the Strike Eagle variant was introduced, focusing on deep-strike ground attacks, close air support for infantry, and sophisticated electronic warfare capabilities. It is an extraordinary feat that the aircraft has never been lost in combat during its 5 decades of global operations.
With its advanced nose-mounted radar system and cutting-edge air-to-air radar-guided missiles, the F-15 could eliminate threats before they even realized what was happening, setting a new standard in aerial warfare technology. It was frequently dispatched to intercept Soviet fighters and bombers during the Cold War era.
In fact, the ongoing “Block” upgrades, such as the F110 engine swap, have kept the F-15 at the forefront of aviation technology for decades. The latest model, the F-15EX, features an increased payload capacity, cutting-edge fly-by-wire controls, a digital cockpit, modernised sensors, improved radars, and robust electronic warfare capabilities. Boeing is pushing the aircraft for export by building on the jet’s cutting-edge combat performance.
The fact that the F-15 is used by NASA further enhances this state-of-the-art aircraft, originally designed to challenge the Soviets. The recently acquired F-15s are not the first set of Eagles to land at a NASA facility. It has been operating three F-15s, two F-15Ds, and one F-15B.
For day 4 of 12 days of aero, we have the F-15! ✈️
NASA Armstrong currently flies F-15D Eagle and F-15B aircraft for research support and research platforms.#12DaysofAero pic.twitter.com/DF8SoZY9pQ
— NASA Armstrong (@NASAArmstrong) December 15, 2024
As per the NASA statement, “NASA has already been operating two F-15s modified so their pilots can operate safely at up to 60,000 feet, the top of the flight envelope for the X-59, which will cruise at 55,000 feet. The new F-15 that will fly for NASA will receive the same modification, allowing for operations at altitudes most standard aircraft cannot reach.”
The F-15s essentially allow the space agency to operate in high-speed, high-altitude flight-testing environments. It can carry experimental hardware externally, under its wings, or slung under the center. And, it could be modified to support flight research.
“NASA has been flying F-15s since some of the earliest models came out in the early 1970s,” the director for flight operations at NASA Armstrong said. “Dozens of scientific experiments have been flown over the decades on NASA’s F-15s and have made a significant contribution to aeronautics and high-speed flight research.”
In the 1970s, when NASA first acquired the F-15, the aircraft was used to test and support research on digital flight controls, propulsion integration, and other crucial aviation technologies.
In the past, the aircraft was used by NASA for the Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control (HIDEC) program.
At the time, an F-15A was used for research work on engine and flight control systems. It demonstrated the use of computer-assisted engine controls to safely land an aircraft using only engine power if its normal control surfaces, such as elevators, rudders, or ailerons, were disabled. This was a crucial experiment.
Later, an F-15B was used for the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) project.
At the time, the idea was to use the aircraft to develop and demonstrate advanced engine and flight control technologies that would significantly enhance the engine or aircraft’s operational characteristics for future high-performance applications.
Before these two programs, the F-15 Short Take Off and Landing/Maneuver Technology Demonstrator (STOL/MTD) arrived at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, in 1993. The aircraft was used as a testbed for a number of advanced research projects, replacing Dryden’s F-15 Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control (HIDEC) research aircraft by using a multi-axis thrust-vectoring system.
In addition to supporting pilot proficiency, crew training, and safety chases for other research flights, this aircraft has served as a flexible research test bed, carrying external fixtures for experiments, including the Quiet Spike sonic boom mitigation from 2006–2009, supersonic boundary-layer transition tests in 2010, and shock-sensing probes.
More than fifty years after it became operational, the F-15 not only operates as a bomb truck for the USAF and its allies but also assists in the development and testing of crucial technologies that can allow Americans to take a quantum leap in aviation. The X-59 is just one of many to benefit from the F-15’s superior supersonic capabilities.
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