McDonnell Douglas helped to develop both the F-15 and F/A-18. Since then, avgeeks, members of the public and generals alike have wondered which is better- the F-15 or the F-18?
Although the F-15 and F/A-18 were designed in completely different eras for completely different roles, for completely different services, they often serve alongside one another in most conflicts.
F-15 vs F-18: What is a Fighter Jet?
Both the F-15 and F/A-18 are fighter jets. In recent years, the term “fighter jet” gets thrown around a lot. This is mostly due to famous aviation movies such as Top Gun having become pop culture icons.
As such, the term “fighter jet” has lost much of its meaning. To many, any military aircraft that is small, has weapons and travels supersonically, is a fighter jet. Whilst this is often true, it isn’t always true.
During WWII, the term “fighter aircraft” (jet aircraft didn’t become prevalent until after the war) described only a handful of aircraft. Some of the most famous aircraft are probably the Spitfire and P-51 Mustang.
After the war, and with the beginning of the Cold War, military aviation changed forever. During the war, any unauthorized aircraft entering your airspace was immediately a threat and was dealt with accordingly.
However, the Cold War saw this philosophy abandoned almost in its entirety. The fear was that if an enemy aircraft was fired upon and shot down, it may be seen as an act of war, and lead to nuclear war.
As such, fighter jets were given other roles as well. These included roles such as: fighter-bomber, escort aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, night fighters as well as several others.
Many of these fighter jets are designed to accommodate all or most of these roles, where others are only designed to accommodate a few of these roles (without major modifications by the manufacturer and/or military!)
F-15 vs F-18: The Basics
Before we can compare the F-15 and the F/A-18, otherwise referred to as the F-18, we must first know a little behind them. More importantly, we need to know why they were built and what purpose they would serve…
F-15
The Vietnam War was arguably one of the US military’s greatest failures. WWII and Korean War-era tactics no longer worked, and saw the poorly trained Viet Cong decimate highly trained American soldiers.
The same was so for the American aerial tactics, costing them billions of dollars in aircraft and numerous talented pilots. As such, the USAF began developing new tactics for new aircraft not yet released.
After much debate, and several aircraft being offered (and some being accepted) to suit the roles, McDonnell offered the USAF what it called the XF-15.
On paper, this aircraft had the speed, maneuverability and attack capabilities that the USAF needed. As such, on December 23 1969, the USAF announced that the XF-15 would enter service as the F-15 Eagle.
It was originally designed to be the USAF’s designated air superiority fighter, replacing the incredibly famous F-86 in this role (as well as other first and second generation jet fighters).
The F-15 first flew on July 27 1972, before being introduced with the USAF on January 9 1976. Subsequently, the F-15 has been exported to several other countries, including Japan and Israel.
F-18
In the late 1970’s, the US Navy was worrying that its ageing fleet of A-4 Skyhawks, the A-7 Corsairs and F-4 Phantoms would make it the subject of Soviet attacks. As such, they launched the VFAX program.
However the aircraft were unsuitable, and the Navy was ordered to tag along to the USAF’s Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program. Here, the General Dynamics YF-16 (F-16) faced off against the Northrop YF-17.
Where the USAF adopted the YF-16 as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the US Navy didn’t believe a naval variant would be suited to Navy service. As such, they showed more preference towards the YF-17.
However, the YF-17 wasn’t designed to primarily be a carrier-based aircraft. As such, a combined Northrop-McDonnell Douglas and US Navy team redesigned much of the YF-17, until it became the F-18 that we know today.
During the YF-17’s redesigning, the US Marine Corps became interested in the aircraft, and joined the US Navy with orders for their own F-18s. With this, several other militaries became interested in the aircraft too.
The F-18 first flew on November 18 1978, with the YF-17 having first flown on June 9 1974. Subsequently, the F-18 entered service with the US Marine Corps in January 1983 and the US Navy in July 1984.
F-15 vs F-18: Specs
Both the F-15 and F/A-18 have been incredibly successful fighter jets for their respective services. As such, McDonnell Douglas, and later Boeing have developed several variants of the F-15 and F/A-18.
The most widely used variant of the F-15 is the F-15C, currently in service with the USAF among others. The most widely used variant of the F/A-18 is the F/A-18C, previously in use with the US Navy.
| Specifications | F-15C | F/A-18C |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) | 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) |
| Wingspan | 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m) | 40 ft 4 in (12.3 m) |
| Length | 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m) | 56 ft 1 in (17.1 m) |
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
| Aspect Ratio | 3.06 | 4.00 |
| Speed | Mach 2.5 (2,655 km/h; 1,650 mph; 1,434 kn) | Mach 1.5 (1,915 km/h; 1,190 mph; 1,034 kn) |
| Combat Range | 1,061 nmi (1,221 mi, 1,965 km) | 1,800 nmi (2,100 mi, 3,300 km) |
| Service Ceiling | 65,000 ft (20,000 m) | 50,000 ft (15,000 m) |
| G Limits | +9;-3.5 | +7.5; -3 |
| Armament | M-61A1 cannon; 4x AIM-9 Sidewinder; 4x AIM-120 AMRAAMs; 8x AIM-120 AMRAAM | M61A1/A2; AIM 9 Sidewinder/ AIM-9X/AIM 7 Sparrow/AIM-120 AMRAAM |
F-15 vs F-18: Cost
After look at both the F-15 and F-18’s specs, it may be tempting to jump to conclusions and announce a winner. However, when it comes to buying fighter jets, price is also one of the major concerns!
F-15
A brand new F-15EX (the newest F-15 variant) bought directly from Boeing is not cheap whatsoever. But then again, it is the same model currently used by the USAF, so that probably says a thing or two.
As of the time of writing, a brand new F-15EX costs roughly $138 million. However, Boeing will only sell it to you if you are a military of a US-friendly nation, with backing from the US Congress.
However, this is not the only way to acquire a working F-15. Assuming you pass the necessary background checks and have the right qualifications and money, you could in theory buy an ex-USAF F-15.
With that being said, this has never been done (as of the time of writing). And even if you could pass all of the tests, the F-15 you could buy would be quite old, with it probably going to be an F-15A/B.
Most estimates put a working former USAF F-15A/B at anywhere from $5 million to $20 million depending on the outlet, year, service history and spec.
The F-15 costs roughly $27,000 to operate per hour. However, this number includes salaries, fuel and maintenance costs. With that being said, there is no consensus on how much it would cost to insure a private F-15.
F-18
Just as with the F-15, a brand new F/A-18E/F isn’t very cheap. As of the time of writing, the price for a single F/A-18 is roughly $66 million, although Boeing will only sell them to militaries of US-friendly nations.
Despite this, there is another way you’d be able to purchase a working F/A-18: from a current operator. However, these Hornets will be from the earlier generations and you’ll still need to pass background checks.
This is as either a military organization or as a civilian flyer.
This was shown recently when Australia announced that they were selling part of their ageing F/A-18A/B fleet to a private firm in the US. This was at a cost of $16 million per aircraft!
In order to operate the F/A-18, you need an infrastructure in place: pilots, fuel, an airport/airfield; maintenance crews etc. Sadly, McDonnell Douglas didn’t really design the F/A-18 with fuel economy in mind.
What has resulted is an aircraft that costs around $24,400 to operate per hour, including fuel, wages and other costs. Sadly, there is not a general consensus about the price to insure a private F-18, although it’d be very expensive.
F-15 vs F-18: Operations
Despite being mostly used by different branches of the US military, as well as by several others, the F-15 and F-18 have served alongside one another on several occasions, sometimes for the same country and other times not.
Although not the only conflicts where both the F-15 and F-18 served alongside one another, the major conflicts have been Iraq and Afghanistan.
F-15
Despite being first entered into service with the USAF, they were not the first to use the F-15 in combat. Instead, that title goes to the Israelis who used F-15s as escort aircraft for their F-16s during Operation Opera.
A year later, during the First Lebanon War, Israeli F-15s were used as air superiority fighters against Lebanon’s Soviet-made Sukhois and MiGs. Here saw the F-15’s first confirmed victory against enemy aircraft.
In October 1985, during Operation Wooden Leg, Israeli F-15s were used once again. Here, Israeli F-15s were the primary aircraft deployed by Israel to bomb the Palestine Liberation Army headquarters in Tunisia.
The major US use of the F-15 was during the First Gulf War, for both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Here, American and Israeli F-15s would attack strategic Iraqi targets.
As of today, the F-15 is in service with several militaries across the worlds, all operating different variants. The largest operator is the USAF who have F-15s in operation on air bases all over the world, including in the UK and Japan.
Several more countries have F-15s on display in museums or in front of military installations. For most of these countries, they are former aircraft with their air force, however, some are captured F-15s from various militaries.
F-18
In 1986, the F/A-18 saw its first military deployment, after having been introduced in 1983/84. Here, F/A-18As provided cover fire for F-14s and F-15s who were a part of Operation Prairie Fire.
Later on, during Operation El Dorado Canyon, F/A-18s saw frontline combat, being used in as fighter-bombers to bomb Benghazi, whilst also defending themselves against the Libyan Air Force.
Years later, F/A-18s would be used in Operation Desert Storm. Here, American F/A-18s would bomb strategic Iraqi targets, including air bases and other military fortifications.
Subsequently, the F/A-18 has been used in the Serbo-Croat War, the Second Gulf War and most recently in Afghanistan. Today, F/A-18s are stationed all over the world on American air bases.
The US Navy demonstration team, the Blue Angels, currently use a fleet of F/A-18A/B/C/Ds as their primary aircraft. However, these are due to be replaced with F/A-18F Super Hornets sometime in mid-2021.
On top of this, Spain, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and Finland all send F/A-18s to airshows around the world. In particular, international airshows like RIAT and Oshkosh see F-18 demonstrations from most of these countries!
F-15 vs F-18: Opinions
It is all well and good looking at the aircraft from a military point of view- cost, operational history, specs etc. However, due to their price, military aircraft can often get crucified in the court of public opinion!
As such, I decided to ask several different members of the aviation community the important question of “F-15 vs F-18: Which is the better aircraft?” This is what they had to say!
Pilots
I decided to ask several military pilots, an equal mix of former and currently active F-15 and F/A-18 pilots, as well as a few military pilots who’d flown neither, but had flown alongside them in combat.
Naturally, most of the F-15 pilots preferred the F-15, mostly because it was the aircraft they flew. The same was also said by the F/A-18 pilots I interviewed, giving mostly generic answers.
For most of the non-F-15 and F/A-18 pilots, they preferred the F-15 for its increased payload and speed. However, did point out that compared to the F/A-18, the range was extremely limited.
I also interviewed one pilot who’d flown the F-15 for the USAF and the F/A-18 for the US Navy. According to him, the F-15 was noticeably faster although the range seemed somewhat limited compared to the F/A-18.
Avgeeks
As usual, I asked the avgeek community about their opinion on the F-15 and F-18. As usual, there was a pretty even 50-50 split, even among American avgeeks and those from Southern European countries!
Many avgeeks who preferred the F-15 spoke about how iconic it is. The F-15 has been the USAF’s premier fighter (alongside the F-16) and has been used in pretty much all of the US’s major military operations.
Most of the remaining avgeeks preferred the F-18. This was mostly down to how adaptable the F/A-18 has proven to be. This is especially so with newer generations such as the F/A-18E/F or even the EA-18G Growler.
As per usual, there was an albeit small faction who preferred neither aircraft. For the most part, this was due to them not being able to make up their minds, as they liked both aircraft equally (or for one, not at all!)
Public
Despite having been one of the USAF and US Navy’s most advanced fighter jets of their era, neither the F-15 or the F-18 has really been the focus of much criticism. At least not like the F-35 has been!
I interviewed people both in the US and in Europe and found a pretty clear divide.
For the majority of British and American people, they preferred the F-15. This was mostly due to how widespread the F-15 with the USAF, both in the US and at the British bases.
For the rest of the Europeans, their views were very clear: the F/A-18 Hornet. This was especially so for the Spanish (who operate the F/A-18) mostly for this reason!
Many of the people who I interviewed just so happened to be former or currently serving military. Many of these people talked about the military benefits of either the F-15 or F-18!
Me
Prior to writing this article, I hadn’t really though about the F-15 and F-18. After all, neither are really used by the same services for the same thing. It’s only the US military who use both.
However, over the course of writing this article, I have found myself preferring the F-15 in almost every way. This is even in spite of the F-15 being the older aircraft by far.
Whilst writing this article, I have remembered one thing I keep remembering when I write aircraft comparisons: airshows as a kid.
As a kid, my parents used to take me to airshows pretty much every summer. Here, the F-15 would always be there, usually from the USAF, but occasionally from the Israelis, Japanese and/or Saudis. I always loved their demonstrations.
Summary
The F-15 is overall the larger aircraft. It is several feet longer than the F-18, as well as having a wingspan that is several feet longer as well. On top of this, the F-15 is also noticeably taller than the F-18.
On top of this, the F-15 is also more stealthy than the F-18. However, this is mostly coincidental rather than being deliberate like the F-22 or F-35 are!
In addition, the F-15 is much faster than the F/A-18, being amongst the fastest aircraft in the world. However, has sacrificed the extended combat range that the F-18 has.
The F-15 has a higher service ceiling, giving it somewhat of a tactical advantage over the F-18. Alongside this, the F-15 also has more weapons than the F-18 does, as well as being to pull more g’s in total.
Both aircraft only require one pilot, which helps to cut down costs in terms of both fuel and in terms of wages. Many of these roles are now carried out by computers and/or the pilot themselves!
However, there are significantly more F-18s than there are F-15s. As such, if all F-15s and F-18, regardless of nationalism, were to fight each other, the F-15 would be severely outnumbered!
F-15 vs F-18 – Which is McDonnell Douglas’ best aircraft? Tell me in the comments!