A team at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida has completed a two-week series of acoustic tests for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15EX Eagle II, a new model of the F-15 bearing GE-129 engines.
Eglin’s Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force, F-15 Section, led the testing activity and contracted Blue Ridge Research and Consulting to capture the sound data, Air Force Materiel Command said Monday.
The effort’s objective is to create a baseline noise level for the Department of Defense’s use in support of an environmental impact study on the aircraft. Over 35 microphones were used for the ground and flight tests of the Eagle IIs.
Zachary Arns, deputy mission support section chief of OFP CTF, said the team is “one step closer” to handing over the aircraft to warfighters.
The activity marks the first time that an in-depth digital acoustic sound testing was done on any F-15 model.