Which Countries Have The Most F-15s In Their Military?

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is one of the United States' most iconic fighter jets. They first entered service in the mid-1970s, and over the course of their production in the U.S., McDonnell Douglas manufactured at least 1,198 of them. While the F-15 Eagle is a fourth-generation fighter that's outmatched by superior fifth-generation aircraft, it remains an important air superiority fighter throughout the world. The U.S. began the plan to replace its outdated fleet of older F-15s, swapping out the older planes for newer models.

The latest model, which was licensed to Boeing, the F-15EX Eagle II, was tasked with taking up the slack. The new model will remain in service until sometime in the 2030s, and in the meantime, the F-15 remains one of the U.S.' most-used air superiority fighters. Of course, like many of the arms produced in the U.S., the F-15 has been sold to several allied nations, and they've developed quite an air force of F-15s around the world. Some of the nations employing the F-15 are Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel, and others.

Of course, the U.S. also continues to fly F-15s, so with a plethora of these planes operating around the world, it's fair to wonder who operates the most. The easy answer to that question is the U.S., which maintains a force of 395 active F-15s of various models with more on order. That's the most in any nation's air force, but some other countries come close. Here are all the countries that fly the F-15 Eagle in their militaries and how many they have operational.

World Air Forces 2024 has a full breakdown of the world's air force power, including every variant of the F-15, so it's fairly easy to determine which country has the most via the downloadable PDF. The nation with the most F-15s in its military is the United States, which operates 395 operational F-15s of varying models. These include 377 F-15 C/E/EXs with 102 more on order and another 18 F-15Ds used for training.

The nation with the next highest number of F-15s is Saudi Arabia, which flies 211 F-15C/S/SA, with the F-15SA being a heavily upgraded version of the F-15S Strike Eagle. Japan operates the next largest air force of F-15s via the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), which flies 155 of the modified F-15J. 

Japan's fighter is based on the F-15C, though it has been modified heavily over its Western counterpart. The U.S. licensed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to manufacture its own F-15Js, placing the entirety of Japan's procurement in the hands of Japanese manufacturing. Conversely, the F-15SA, operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), is manufactured in the U.S. by Boeing, though the fleet is maintained by the RSAF.

It's important to know what an F-15 is because the plane that exists today is far superior to the one introduced in the '70s. It's a fairly standard practice to continuously update and upgrade aircraft in the U.S. military, and the F-15 is no exception. Since its introduction, the F-15 has undergone numerous refits and upgrades, resulting in numerous variants capable of taking part in multiple missions for the U.S. and its allies.

At its core, the F-15 is a twin-engine, all-weather fighter capable of engaging in dogfights, taking out targets on the ground with the F-15E Strike Eagle configuration, or flying air superiority missions in contested areas. To date, no F-15 has been shot down in air-to-air combat, and the Israeli Air Force has racked up numerous victories flying the fighter. There are single and double-seat versions of the aircraft, so it's incredibly versatile and has a history of proven combat performance.

While there are many configurations of armament and ordnance, most versions have similar weapon systems installed. F-15s come with an M-61A1 20 mm, six-barrel cannon and are capable of firing the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. They have a range of 3,450 miles, can reach a ceiling of 65,000 feet, and depending on the variant, they can fly faster than Mach 2, reaching 1,875 mph, with the F-15EX Eagle II managing to come close to Mach 3 by hitting its "not-to-exceed" speed of 2,225 mph, making it one of the fastest production fighter jets in the world.

There's no denying that the top three nations fly a lot of F-15s about the planet, but that's not all of the fighters in operation. Five more nations fly versions of the F-15 in their respective air forces, though the numbers pale in comparison to the top three operators. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) flies 86 F-15s in total, with 66 F-15/A/CI/I in operation. The IDF continues to procure and upgrade its fighters and will incorporate the newer model F-15IA into its fleet as they become available.

After Israel, Qatar is the next-highest operator, with 33 F-15QA Ababils currently in operation, and another 36 are on order. After Qatar, South Korea operates 59 of the F-15K Slam Eagle variants, which are flown by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). Singapore flies nearly as many, with 40 operational F-15SG variants flying in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Finally, Indonesia doesn't currently own and operate its own F-15s but does have 20 on order.

Each of these nations (except for Japan) procures F-15s directly from the U.S., manufactured by Boeing at its St. Louis, Missouri, plant. As of 2024, there were a total of 1,044 flying for different militaries around the world, and more are on the way. Boeing has plans to continue producing the aircraft, with the latest model, the F-15EX Eagle II, making its way to the IDF for conversion to the F-15IA. Procurement plans should continue through to the end of FY 2028, though this could extend well into the 2030s, ensuring the F-15 continues dominating the world's skies decades after its introduction.