The F-15EX Eagle II preparing to fire an AIM-120D missile. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Raven.

The US Air Force (USAF) 40th Flight Test Squadron pilots have successfully conducted the F-15EX Eagle II aircraft’s first missile live-fire event.

The firing was carried out during an air-to-air Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP) mission near Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.

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83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron is managing the WSEP monthly event.

During the event, the aircraft took off on a sortie and used its onboard sensors to identify a BQM-167 aerial target drone.

Once the aircraft obtained a weapons-quality track, the aircrew aboard F-15EX fired an AIM-120D missile, as reported by Samuel King Jr.

Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force F-15EX test project manager Colton Myers said: “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.”

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The USAF currently has two F-15EXs, which were delivered by Boeing in March and April 2021.

Myers said: “The fact that both aircraft were able to turn around from a streamlined acceptance period and immediately deploy to a major exercise is a testament to the maturity of this platform, as well as the expertise of the combined test team as a whole.”

The event marks a milestone for the F-15EX test team at Eglin Air Force Base. It follows integrated developmental and operational flight testing carried out over six months.

The F-15EX has completed developmental testing, ground testing, survivability testing and some operational testing. It has also participated in the Northern Edge multiservice exercise in Alaska.

Myers added: “The combined developmental testing and operational testing (DT/OT) strategy has been critical to our test success, allowing us to break the mould of ‘traditional’ testing while ultimately resulting in an overall better product for the warfighter, and in a shorter timeline than if we adopted the traditional approach.”