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NASA adds two retired USAF F-15s to Armstrong fleet to support X-59 high‑altitude supersonic trials

NASA has brought two retired U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters into its Armstrong Flight Research Center fleet at Edwards AFB to act as chase/support aircraft for high‑altitude, supersonic testing of the X-59 quiet‑boom demonstrator. The jets will be modified to enable chase, instrumentation and data collection during supersonic profiles.

Discovered 2026-01-15T13:07:18.912355-08:00 | 2026-01-15T13:07:18.912355-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The addition directly supports the X-59 supersonic flight test campaign, providing dedicated chase and instrumentation capability for ongoing post‑flight and high‑altitude trials (see recent X-59 work) (source:7b424daa-0ab9-495f-9472-14254aa091b9).
  • NASA’s reuse of retired military F-15s underscores reliance on converted service aircraft for advanced flight research; this intersects with policy and availability issues around USAF F-15 retirements and retention (source:66cbdb27-b961-40ea-8771-dacf16d6ce09).
  • Concentrating supersonic testing at Edwards/Armstrong leverages established high‑speed flight infrastructure and test heritage, helping accelerate data collection and program milestones (source:38857266-0618-40b4-a607-0d33c61b56ad).

Reported By

Flying Magazine aerobuzz.fr Aviation Week avweb.com asdnews.com flugrevue.de
Sources Tracked
23
First Seen
2026-01-15T13:07:18.912355-08:00
Latest Update
2026-01-22T11:54:27.809309-08:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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