US F-15EX successfully tests new missile stations

Two USAF F-15EX Eagle II aircraft have launched missiles from their new weapons stations, known as Stations 1 and 9, over the Gulf of Mexico.

The test fire took place at the end of November, but the USAF only revealed it on 4 January.

The pilots fired an AIM-130 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) from Station 1 and an AIM-9X Sidewinder from station 9.

Both aircraft successfully released the missiles on separate passes against a target UAS.

This was the first USAF test flight to validate that weapons could be fired effectively and safely from these weapon stations. 

The successful employment of these weapons, the USAF said, is a major step in demonstrating the Eagle II aircraft’s capacity of 12 air-to-air missiles.

While other F-15 variants can only carry eight air-to-air missiles, the F-15EX Eagle II adds four additional missile stations located toward the wing tips.

The recent missile launches pushed forward the aircraft’s integrated developmental and operational testing, just nine months after the first missile fire from the Eagle II.

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Related Equipment in Defence Insight

F-15 Eagle

AIM-9 Sidewinder

AIM-120 AMRAAM