Boeing (McDonnell-Douglas) F-15 Eagle
Typically for a fighter designed in the early 1970s the F-15 Eagle has double vertical stabilisers, cropped delta shaped wings, wedge shaped air intakes at the side of the fuselage and bubble canopy. Distinctive compared to similar aircraft are the tops of the vertical stabilisers, with a sort of antennas pointing forward. Also the vertical stabilisers are not tilted.
Rear fuselage of the F-15, with the antennas on top of the vertical stabilisers - typical for the F-15 - clearly visible.
Different versions
How to recognise the different versions of the F-15 will be added later.
Confusion possible with
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
Being of the same generation, the F-14 Tomcat is one of the fighters than mostly resembles the F‑15. The F-14 however has variable sweep wings, vertical stabilisers tilted outward and air intakes tilted inward. On the F-15 the stabilisers and air intakes are straight. Finally, the F-14 always has a double wheel nose gear and two seat cockpit.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG‑25/MiG-31
The MiG-25 and MiG-31 are also similarly shaped as the F-15. However, they have no bubble canopy, no forward pointing antennas on top of the vertical stabilisers, but do have two wheels on the nose gear.
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
The successor of the F-15, the F‑22 Raptor, also has two fins (but tilted outward), a bubble canopy and rectangular air intakes, but of a different shape when viewed from the side. Also the wings are more of a regular delta shape than a cropped delta.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29
The Fulcrum has the same basic characteristics as the F-15, with one big difference: the wedge shaped air intakes are underneath the fuselage instead of on the side of the fuselage. The same applies to the Sukhoi Su‑27 family.