The F-15 Eagle is America's most storied jet fighter. It has an

unbeaten record in the air—104 kills and zero losses—unmatched

by any other combat aircraft.

It's also getting long in the tooth—the

average age of the 254F-15s serving in the U.S. Air Force service is now 28 years old. That

puts it a generation behind the latest planes, from the American F-22 Raptor to

the Chinese J-20. The Air Force had planned to replace the F-15 with the F-22

altogether, but stopped production of the F-22 Raptor at just 195 aircraft, as the multi-purpose F-35 Joint Strike Fighter became more politically popular.

Now the plan is for the Raptor and the Eagle to work together in

the skies, teaming up to take down enemy fighters. And to make the Eagle more

lethal for its share of the task aviation giant Boeing is has introduced an

upgrade: the F-15 Eagle C2040.

A conceptual rendering from Boeing of the F-15 C2040 Boeing

The Eagle C2040 is designed to be a missileer, carrying up to sixteen

AIM-120D AMRAAM radar-guided missiles into battle. That's twice as many as

many as existing F-15Es can carry and six more than the current reigning champion in

missiles, the Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flanker.

The upgrade also includes the Talon HATE advanced communications datalink, which allows the F-15 to exchange data with the F-22. Boeing almost

certainly has in mind a scenario in which stealthy Raptors could fly ahead

undetected, quietly identifying and targeting enemy aircraft for the heavily

armed Eagles.

Other upgrades include an improved radar, an infrared targeting

system, and improved electronic warfare capabilities. The F-15 would also have

conformal fuel tanks attached to the fuselage, giving the plane even longer

legs while preserving the Eagle's maneuverability.

The Eagle 2040C is an upgrade package that would be applied to existing

F-15s. The package should keep the F-15 lethal until the U.S. unveils its next

generation air superiority fighter—right around 2040.

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