Eagle II fires first missile during live-fire event

Flying over the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force's newest fighter, the F-15EX Eagle II, successfully fired an AIM-120D missile Jan. 25.

The 40th Flight Test Squadron aircrew and aircraft fired the weapon pursuing a BQM-167 aerial target drone as part of the 53rd Wing's Combat Archer, an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program, or WSEP.

During the flight, the F-15EX detected the drone using onboard sensors, acquired a weapons-quality track and launched the missile at the target. After tracking the missile's release and flight toward the BQM-167, the shot was determined a WSEP success, at which point the missile flight was terminated.

The successful release marked the first weapon fired from the aircraft and another major milestone following more than six months of integrated developmental and operational flight testing for the shot.

"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," said Colton Myers, F-15EX test project manager with the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force.

F-15EX missile shot — The F-15EX Eagle II fires an AIM-120D missile during a Weapons System Evaluation Program mission near Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 25, 2022. This was the first live fire performed from the Air Force's newest aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Raven)

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