Designer and first built by McDonnell Douglas, the F-15 Eagle is the United States Air Force’s most important air-superiority fighter and one of the most important Western fighters since World War II. First deployed in 1972, it is expected to stay in active service until 2025, easily making it the longest serving fighter in the history of the U.S. Air Force. It has been the backbone of the United States Air Force’s air superiority capability and remains, even 30 years after its debut, a formidable warplane and a legend of air combat