Two F-15Ds of the Oregon Air Nationwide Guard have been transferred to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Analysis Middle, the place they’ll be a part of those already operated by the company.
NASA has introduced on Jan. 15, 2026, that two not too long ago retired U.S. Air Drive F-15D Eagle plane have discovered a brand new dwelling to proceed flying. In truth, on Dec. 22, 2025, two Eagles of the Oregon Air Nationwide Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Area have been NASA’s Armstrong Flight Analysis Middle in Edwards, California.
Extra F-15s for NASA
The images launched present the 2 plane are F-15Ds AF 81-0063 and AF 84-0045. The company stated in a press launch that one among these will return to the air as an energetic NASA analysis plane, whereas the second can be used for components to help long-term fleet sustainment.
The plane will help supersonic flight analysis for NASA’s Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities undertaking, says the press launch. Among the many missions included within the undertaking is the testing of the X-59 QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Know-how) analysis plane.
“These two plane will allow profitable information assortment and chase airplane capabilities for the X-59 by way of the lifetime of the Low Increase Flight Demonstrator undertaking” stated Troy Asher, director for flight operations at NASA Armstrong. “They may even allow us to renew operations with varied exterior companions, together with the Division of Struggle and business aviation corporations.”
The 2 F-15s delivered in December are usually not the primary to be operated by NASA. In truth, the company already operates three F-15s, of which two are F-15Ds and one is an older F-15B, whereas different experimental F-15s have been operated previously.
“NASA has been flying F-15s since a number of the earliest fashions got here out within the early Seventies,” Asher stated. “Dozens of scientific experiments have been flown over the many years on NASA’s F-15s and have made a big contribution to aeronautics and high-speed flight analysis.”
One of many F-15Ds and the F-15B have been modified to soundly function at as much as 60,000 ft. The explanation for this it to permit the plane to comply with the X-59, whose flight envelope goes as much as 60,000 ft, though check flights are deliberate to cruise at 55,000 ft.
The newly delivered F-15 that can fly for NASA will obtain the identical modification, says the company. Engineers will modify their software program, methods, and flight controls to swimsuit mission wants.
“The precedence is for them to efficiently help the X-59 by way of completion of that mission,” Asher stated. “And over the long run, these plane will assist place NASA to proceed supporting superior aeronautics analysis and partnerships.”
The press launch famous that the mix of functionality, capability, and flexibility makes the F-15s uniquely suited to flight analysis at NASA Armstrong. Furthermore, the F-15’s floor clearance permits researchers to put in devices and experiments that may not match beneath many different plane.
NASA F-15s and the X-59
In 2025, two NASA F-15 have been used to validate instruments designed to measure and report the shock waves that can be produced by the X-59 quiet supersonic experimental plane. The jets matched the circumstances the X-59 is predicted to fly with a purpose to collect information that may assist result in quiet business supersonic flight over land.
These checks noticed Schlieren, Airborne Measurements, and Vary Operations for Quesst (SCHAMROQ) undertaking’s workforce on the Armstrong Flight Analysis Middle growing instruments that can measure and visualize the X-59’s distinctive shock waves when it flies at Mach 1.4 and altitudes above 50,000 toes. The F-15s helped to validate three key instruments:
A shock wave-measuring gadget referred to as a near-field shock-sensing probe
A steerage functionality referred to as an Airborne Location Integrating Geospatial Navigation System (ALIGNS)
An Airborne Schlieren Images System that can enable the seize of photos that render seen the density modifications in air brought on by the X-59
Using two F-15s, flying collectively as a two-ship flight, allowed to gather information from each other to check the near-field shock-sensing probes and validate the instruments underneath real-world circumstances. For the QueSST mission, the F-15D will lead data-gathering efforts utilizing the onboard probe, whereas the F-15B will function the backup.
The F-15 will fly behind the X-59, utilizing its probe to measure small strain modifications brought on by the shock waves and validate predictions made in the course of the X-59’s design part. The schlieren images methods aboard the F-15s may even enable to gather imagery of the real-world airflow, to be in contrast with information from simulations and wind tunnel testing.
Schlieren Images
The schlieren images isn’t a simple job, as the 2 plane will have to be exactly positioned. Pilots can be helped by the ALIGNS instrument, which can present them “the place to place the plane to both probe a shock wave at a selected level or to get into the proper geometry for schlieren images.”
The schlieren system includes a handheld high-speed digicam with a telescopic lens that captures a whole lot of frames per second and visualizes modifications in air density. Nevertheless, there’s a catch: the solar have to be used as a backdrop.
“The photographer holds the digicam to their chest, aiming out the facet of the cockpit cover on the solar, whereas the pilot maneuvers by way of a 100-foot-wide goal zone,” stated Edward Haering, a NASA aerospace engineer who leads analysis on schlieren. “If the solar leaves the body, we lose that information, so we fly a number of passes to verify we seize the shot.”
The photographer should seize the plane flying throughout the middle of the solar, and even the slightest shift can have an effect on the shot and cut back the standard of the info, explains NASA. Right here is have been ALIGNS involves the rescue, permitting for a much less difficult positioning.
The software program runs on ruggedized tablets and makes use of GPS information from each plane to calculate when the plane are in place for probing and to seize schlieren imagery, explains the company. The instrument supplies real-time indications, making the positioning extra correct.
