The F-15 was built to be big, tough, and powerful, while the F-16 was built to be small, smart, and fast.
The F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon are both iconic American fighter aircraft. Often confused because of their similar designations and era, the two jets are actually quite different from one another. Here is a breakdown of both aircraft with respect to design, performance, and features.
Both Planes Were Designed for Air Combat
Both the F-15 and F-16, oddly enough, were designed for air superiority operations—and only later adapted to include multirole capabilities. Yet although both aircraft were designed for air superiority, the philosophy applied to each aircraft’s design was notably different. Specifically, the F-15 is large and heavy, built around two powerful engines. The F-16, on the other hand, is small and lightweight. Said another way, the F-15 is powerful, while the F-16 is agile.
The F-15’s wing shape is shoulder-mounted, straight-edge and trapezoidal. The wing loading is higher. The intent of the designers here was to create something durable and strong, a concept that was incorporated throughout the aircraft. The F-16, meanwhile, features a blended, cropped delta wing with leading-edge extension. The F-16 wing was designed with a lower wing load in order to enhance agility.
The F-15’s fuselage shape is long and wide to accommodate for fuel, avionics, and payload. Conversely, the F-16 is slim, with a blended fuselage integrated with the wings. The drag profile of the F-15 is optimized for supersonic flight and stability. The F-16’s drag profile is optimized for maneuverability and a reduced radar signature.
The F-15 is built around two Pratt & Whitney F100s. The nimbler F-16 features just one Pratt & Whitney of the same engine family. The twin-engine configuration of the F-15 has both advantages and disadvantages. Its primary advantage is speed and power: the F-15 can reach Mach 2.5 (around 1,850 mph), making it one of the fastest aircraft in the world. Its thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds 1:1, meaning that it can actually accelerate vertically, like a rocket. The F-15 is maneuverable for its size, with a partial fly-by-wire system.
The F-16 is slower, but still capable of hitting a respectable Mach 2.0, and has a thrust-to-weight ratio of around 1:1. Extremely agile, the F-16 features a full digital fly-by-wire system, meant to keep the inherently unstable aircraft in flight.
Both aircraft can carry a similar armament configuration, although the F-15 can carry a maximum payload of 23,000 pounds compared to the F-16’s 17,000 pounds. Each aircraft can carry the AIM-9, AIM-120, JDAM, and a variety of bombs; both also feature a 20-mm cannon.
The F-16 Is a Lot Cheaper Than the F-15
The F-15 is a significantly more expensive aircraft than the F-16. The newer F-15EX variant costs about $90 million per unit. The F-16 costs a (relatively) more affordable $30 to $40 million. It is no surprise, then, that the F-16 is much more widely produced—and has also been widely exported around the world, whereas the F-15 has comparatively fewer customers.
With respect to maintenance, the F-15 is also significantly more complex and expensive to maintain, meaning that the sticker price isn’t the only more expensive feature of the F-15 relative to the F-16—the cost of ownership is higher, too.
In short, the F-15 was built to be big, tough, and powerful, while the F-16 was built to be small, smart, and fast.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
