Eagle Country

While Gunfighters are no stranger to the rapid rearming and refueling of an F-15E Strike Eagle in areas such as U.S. Central Command and the continental United States, it’s important these techniques are tested in new environments like the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The National Defense Strategy identifies the Indo-Pacific region as the priority theater for the Department of Defense making locations like CNMI in the western Pacific a key location for Airmen to adapt and tailor techniques to conduct military operations.

Congratulations to Lt Col Trinidad “Moses” Meza who achieved 5k flying hours as an F-15E Weapons Systems Officer. He currently holds the most flying hours as a WSO across the Air Force.

As a WSO he displays information from the radar, electronic warfare or infrared sensors; monitors aircraft or weapons status and possible threats; selects targets; and uses an electronic “moving map” to navigate.Lt Col Meza has flown sorties in support of Operation Northern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Inherent Resolve, passing 4k flying hours in March 2018, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

USAF F-15C serial number 82-0025, assigned to the 40th Flight Test Squadron Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, completes one of its final missions before retirement, July 26, 2021. The twin-engine, single seat jet flew as a memorial to Maj. James “Crush” Duricy, a test pilot who died the same kind of aircraft during a test flight in 2002. (All photos are made by U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire)

On July 27th, 1972: McDonnell Douglas Chief Experimental Test Pilot Irving L. Burrows made the first flight of the prototype YF-15A-1-MC Eagle, 71-0280, at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

With over 104 air to air kills the Eagle is still undefeated and dominant in the Air to Air role, with the F-15EX Eagle II on the way, the Eagle will remain dominant for many more years to come. A couple of the first flight photos released by McDonnell Douglas and the DoD

More than 35 aircraft and approximately 800 Airmen from Pacific Air Forces and Air Combat Command will deploy to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility in July to participate in Operation Pacific Iron 2021.

Pacific Iron 2021 is a PACAF dynamic force employment operation to project forces into the USINDOPACOM’s area of responsibility in support of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) which called on the military to be a more lethal, adaptive, and resilient force.

Approximately ten F-15E Strike Eagles from the 389th Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; approximately 25 F-22 Raptors from the 525th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 199th Fighter Squadron, 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii; and two C-130J Hercules from the 374th Airlift Wing from Yokota Air Base, Japan will conduct combat dispersal operations in Guam and Tinian.