The ACTIVE aircraft is a modified F-15, originally built by McDonnell Douglas in 1971 as the first two-seat F-15 or TF-15A #1.
In the late 80's, F/A-18 stabilators were added as canards along with F100-220 engines, pitch (2D) thrust vectoring/thrust reversing nozzles, stregthened landing gear and a quad-digital fly-by-wire flight control system. When NASA acquired the aircraft in 1993, F100-229 engines with Pitch/Yaw (3D) thrust vectoring nozzles were added.