In 2006, Boeing Nearly Turn F-15 Into a Rocket Launching Drone.

On April 24, 2006, Boeing attempted to turn the F-15 Eagle into the F-15 Global Strike Eagle. In 2003, a secret project known as the "Common Aero Vehicle," or CAV, was initiated by Nasa. It was a Mach 5-capable re-entry vehicle with a 1000-pound warhead. But to put the CAV into low Earth orbit, a platform was required, and Boeing proposed using the F15. The rocket would have two second-stage motors from the Minuteman II and III ballistic missiles, while the third motor would be sourced from smaller rockets. The F-15 GSE was designed to operate as an unmanned plane, but in the end, the US decided to use strategic bombers for delivering HGVs rather than modifying the F-15s.

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