美有意將F-15戰機租借給台灣

choi

朱明, 美方提升我空防戰力 有意將更敏感F-15戰機租借給台灣. City of Taipei: 上報, Mar 19, 2018.
www.upmedia.mg/news_info.php?SerialNo=37202

My comment:
(a) It should be deemed a rumor until confirmed. But this report may allow me to distinguish the fighter jets discussed in it.

(b) "空軍負責高空攔截作戰的幻象戰機 [are not always in good shape] * * * 原先空軍探詢是否能採購最新的F-15 2040c型戰機，但被美方拒絕後，才考慮是否以航程短，但屬於多用途的F/A-18EF戰機來取代；但是採購這兩款新型戰機，經費都不便宜，加上牽涉美中敏感關係，因此美方年初提出以「租借」代替「出售」模式，將經過中期壽限提升的中古F-15戰機「租借」給我方，來補強空軍在高空攔截戰力空隙。

F-15火力強大　爬升速度比F/A-18快

事實上，F-15C/D型戰機比起F/A-18EF戰機的敏感度更高，除了F-15戰機的作戰半徑比F/A-18戰機多，發動機推力大，每分鐘可爬升五萬英呎的速度，比F/A-18戰機更快，加上F-15C/D戰機掛載飛彈數量上，即使沒有副油箱，機身起碼可以同時掛載8枚以上的中程空對空飛彈，以及4枚以上的AIM-9X先進響尾蛇飛彈，火力強大且爬升速度快。2016年9月12日上午發生在蘭嶼外公海上，中國解放軍空軍前往太平洋遠航訓練時，就曾發生美軍F-15戰機與解放軍蘇-30戰機接近，雙方採取戰術動作「占有利位置」時，蘇-30戰機沒有占到便宜，被迫採轉彎閃躲，因此F-15戰機高空的作戰能量與對地攻擊 [strike or attack] 的火力，才使得以色列至今仍選用F-15戰機作為「長程打擊平台」。
(i) F-15 2040C
(A) Only this report identifies it 2040c (lower case). All English-language postings uses 2040C (upper case), which I will use here.
(B) "In September 2015, Boeing unveiled its 2040C Eagle upgrade, designed to keep the F-15 relevant through 2040. * * * a maximum of 16 air-to-air missiles"  en.wikipedia.org for F-15 Eagle (which does not have a page for F-15 2040C, only for F-15 Eagle. This quotation is all Wikipedia has for F-15 2040C.)
(C) from the Web:
* "The F-15 2040C proposal has been conceived to be an F-15C upgrade, which would allow U.S. Air Force (USAF) to supplement the F-22 in the Air-Superiority role with a reliable, tested and cost-effective combat plane."
* James Drew, Boeing doubles F-15C Missile Load in '2040C' Eagle Upgrade. FlightGlobal.com, Sept 15, 2015.
* Boeing.com does not have a Web page for F-152040C (only for F-15). In,
(ii)
(A) F-15 Eagle
www.boeing.com/defense/f-15-eagle/
("The F-15 is a twin-engine, all weather fighter that is the backbone for the U.S. Air Force’s air superiority and homeland defense missions. Its proven design is undefeated in air-to-air combat, with more than 100 aerial combat victories. Its two engines provide 58,000 pounds of thrust, which enable the F-15 to exceed speeds of Mach 2.5. Boeing has built more than 1,600 of the aircraft for six countries around the world providing unparalleled interoperability")
(B) McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle
(now Boeing; A/B or C/D; Primary users: US, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia; "entered service in 1976. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force [1979-1985, all against Syria air force's Mig-23s, and, to a lesser extent, Mig-21s]. * ** with production set to end in 2022")
(iii) air superiority fighter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_superiority_fighter
("are designed primarily to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft, although some may have a secondary role for air-to-ground strikes [or attack]. * * * *Combat experiences during the Vietnam War proved BVR [beyond visual range] proponents wrong. * * * air combat [in that war] often devolved into close-range dogfights" which led to development of the first air superiority fighters: US Navy's F-14 Tomcat (in service 1974-2006) and US Air Force's F-15 Eagle)

(c) "F-15戰機的作戰半徑比F/A-18戰機多，發動機推力大，每分鐘可爬升五萬英呎的速度，比F/A-18戰機更快，加上F-15C/D戰機掛載飛彈數量上，即使沒有副油箱，機身起碼可以同時掛載8枚以上的中程空對空飛彈，以及4枚以上的AIM-9X先進響尾蛇飛彈，火力強大且爬升速度快。"
(i) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle
(Section 7 Specifications (F-15C): Combat radius: 1,061 nmi (1,222 mi), Rate of climb: >50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
(ii) "即使沒有副油箱"
(A) 副油箱  English: auxiliary tank/ external (fuel) tank/ drop tank
(B) On Feb 19, 2018 based in Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 (located in Misawa, Aomori 青森県 三沢市), 一架驻日美军的F-16战斗机在空中出现了发动机起火的事故，飞机在扔掉了两个副油箱后紧急返回基地迫降. 副油箱落入了日本附近湖中，差点击中了在其中捕捞贝类的 日本 渔船。
(C) For an airliner's fuel tank, see fuel tank
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tank
(section 4 Aircraft)
(D) F-15E Strike Eagle (by Boeing) has three kinds of fuel tanks (presumably so does F-15C/D). See Fuel System.
www.f-15e.info/joomla/en/technology/fuel-system
(internal fuel system; conformational fuel tanks; external fuel tanks)
(iii) McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Horne
(now Boeing; "a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack [the ground] aircraft (hence the F/A designation)"/ Section 8 Specifications (F/A-18C/D): Combat range: 400 nmi (460 mi), Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s) )

(d) "F-15C/D型戰機，雖然是美軍準備退役的機種，但性能都經過MLU（中期壽限提升） [mid-life update] 將機上的任務電腦、感測系統，以及雷達進行強化更新，性能與日本航空自衛隊使用的F-15J/DJ/EJ的MSIP（多階段改良計劃）的差不多，該型 [C or J?; anyway, I fail to find any info for this]戰機使用的機場跑道非常短，符合我方的短場起降，爬升率快更符合高空攔截的需求。"
(i) F-15J/DJ/EJ denotes three kinds of F-15s: F-15J, F-15DJ, and F-15EJ.
(ii) Multistage Improvement Program (MSIP) is found in one paragraph of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle

My glance at the Web suggests MSIP is a term formF-15s only and means incremental upgrades, here and there and in various tears.

(e) "我國向美方租借軍事物質是有例可循 * * * 新港級(New Port class）戰車登陸艦"
(i) Newport-class tank landing ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport-class_tank_landing_ship
(In commission: 1969–2002 (USN), Completed: 20; the lead ship was named after City of Newport, Rhode Island; Section 2 Types: USS Manitowoc was sold, not leased, to Taiwan as "Chong ho" and USS Sumter sold to Taiwan as "ChongPing" -- sometime after both were decommissioned by USN in 1993))
(ii) zh.wikipedia.org on 新港級戰車登陸艦 says: "中華民國海軍在1995年與美國簽署兩艘新港級的租約，之後於1997年抵台服役，並命名為「中和級」，現有中和號（LST-232）和中平號（LST-233）兩艘"