Proving the dual-role idea
The Advanced Fighter Capability Demonstrator explored how the F-15 could perform the deep-interdiction mission. That demonstrator was only the beginning: a convincing concept still had to survive evaluation, competition and the realities of production design.
Integration was the central challenge
Radar, LANTIRN, displays, navigation, engines, conformal fuel tanks and weapons all affected one another. Flight and systems testing had to expose failures, validate performance and give the crew a manageable way to use a rapidly growing set of capabilities.
People and decisions behind the programme
The engineering story is also a human one. Programme managers, designers, test crews, maintainers and operational representatives made choices that shaped the aircraft for decades. Steve Davies’s research began with rare access to Boeing’s St Louis archives and retirees, allowing those decisions to be reconstructed from close to their source.