Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay’s Wind Tunnel Test Complete

Boeing has successfully completed its wind tunnel test on the Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB). "Boeing and its partners have advanced to the next phase in the development of the Silent Eagle, an evolved derivative of the combat-proven F-15 family of aircraft," said Roger Besancenez, F-15 Program vice president for Boeing. "We are now testing production-representative hardware as we continue to validate our affordable and low-risk design". The CWB was manufactured in association with the Korea Aerospace Industries. The Silent Eagle is Boeing's offer in the F-X competition for the Republic of Korea's multirole fighter aircraft. More detailed tests will be conducted later this year to focus on the aerodynamic effects of multiple weapons loads, as well as opening and closing the upper and lower CWB doors. Designed with advanced technologies that provide an unprecedented balance of survivability and lethality to meet warfighters' needs in all phases of air combat, the CWBs can be reconfigured to Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) to optimize the aircraft for longer ranges and increased weapons loading, making the Silent Eagle a flexible platform with unmatched range, speed, payload and persistence. The reconfigurable CWB-CFT concept is unique in the fighter aircraft world and contributes to the overall RCS reduction package while the aircraft maintains both air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities.