The U.S. Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft fired its first-ever live missile during a recent evaluation of its air-to-air weapons systems over the Gulf of Mexico.
Operated by 40th Flight Test Squadron personnel, the Boeing-built aircraft used its onboard sensors to detect and target a BQM-167 aerial drone with an AIM-120D missile, marking a success on its weapons system evaluation program test, the U.S. Air Force said Monday.
The milestone also is a culmination of more than six months of integrated developmental and operational flight testing in preparation for the missile fire.
“This was an end-to-end verification of the entire weapons system, which will pave the way for more complex missile shots in the future,” noted Colton Myers, F-15EX test project manager with the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force.
The live fire came over three months since F-15EX, the upgraded variant of the over 40-year-old F-15 aircraft used by the Air Force, flew its first operational test mission in October.