At 15 A that's about 9 W dissipation in the channel alone — well within the 25 W package limit at Tc=25°C, but the TO-220FP's thermal resistance (junction-to-case) will push the junction temperature quickly if the heatsinking is skimpy.
That means no further factory production runs, no last-time-buy windows — the only channel left is the surplus and broker market. Independent distributors like ours source these from verified excess inventory, so availability is real but finite. Each unit is inspected and tested to the original datasheet limits before shipment. Because the part is obsolete, there is no official successor from ST with the same TO-220FP footprint and identical ratings. For a new design, you would typically move to a current-production STripFET™ F6 or DeepGATE™ series part in the same voltage/current class — but the package and pinout may differ. For a repair or BOM-fill, this exact code is the only drop-in.
