Tag: F-15 McDonnell Douglas

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Eagles have landed:  New F-15EXs arrive at Eglin

By Samuel King Jr.

The Air Force’s two newest fighters, F-15EX Eagle IIs, known as EX3 and EX4, touched down at Eglin Dec. 20, 2023 just minutes from each other. 

The new arrivals bring the Air Force’s total F-15EXs to four, all located at Eglin. The two aircraft belong to the 96th Test Wing (EX3) and 53rd Wing (EX4), who also own the initial two fighters.

“The F-15EX has met every challenge we’ve thrown at it to date and the platform is on the cusp of being ready for the warfighter,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Wee, Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force commander. “The delivery of the new aircraft paves the way for not only the delivery of combat coded aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, but also the continued development of this incredible addition to the USAF inventory.”

The new Eagles bring features and capabilities to be tested that the original two jets didn’t have. The cockpit pressure monitor and warning system is a new addition to EX3 and EX4, as well as an ultra-high frequency antenna for satellite communications. The new Eagles also feature a forward fuselage redesigned specifically for the U.S. Air Force.

The F-15EX test platforms at Eglin will accelerate development of capabilities both for the platform itself, and other combat aircraft.

“Our integrated test approach, which combines developmental and operational test, brings the future faster to the warfighter,” said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Geraghty, 96th Test Wing commander. “This ensures the U.S. Air Force continues to provide deterrence and readiness for the high-end fight.”

The F-15EX program at Eglin ends this year with two new aircraft, but the combined test wings kept the two available jets in the air for a very busy 2023. In May, those two aircraft flew to Alaska and participated in and supported Northern Edge 2023. In June, the F-15EX executed advanced weapons integration missions to ensure the aircraft and various munitions flew and communicated with each other properly.

After the integration successes, the F-15EXs flew to Hill AFB, Utah, for Combat Hammer, where the aircraft successfully employed advanced air-to-ground weapons for the first time. These and the efforts over the last two years earned the combined test and evaluation team a glowing report from the Operational Test and Evaluation director.

 The director’s report stated the F-15EX is operationally effective, suitable, and survivable against threats likely to be encountered while performing its missions in threat environments.  This report allows the program to move into a new testing phase. 

“I am tremendously proud of the team and their efforts to foster the F-15EX program,” said Wee. “The F-15EX is the most capable Eagle on the planet, and we are just getting started.” 

The test wings are scheduled to receive two more F-15EX aircraft in the future

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Eagle Country

F-15EX Eagle IIs to be based at Kadena AB

STARS AND STRIPES • December 19, 2023

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – The Air Force is considering a plan to permanently replace its aging fleet of F-15 Eagle fighters on Okinawa with a smaller number of more advanced aircraft, a Japanese news magazine reported recently.

The Air Force informed lawmakers on Capitol Hill that it plans to permanently deploy 36 F-15EX Eagle II fighters at Kadena Air Base to replace the 48 F-15C/Ds previously stationed there, Nikkei Asia reported Monday, citing unnamed congressional sources briefed on the plan.

The multi-role F-15EX fighters, derived from the F-15E Strike Eagle, could be bolstered by unmanned drones.

Some lawmakers and scholars expressed concerns about the message a smaller permanent fighter presence would send to allies and potential adversaries in the region, the news magazine reported.

“I support a permanent basing of F-15EX aircraft at Kadena but am concerned about the Air Force’s initial plan to station only 36 new aircraft, replacing the 48 divested ones,” Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., told the outlet. Wittman, vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said he wants to see an “operational analysis” that supports the decision, Nikkei said.

A representative for Wittman did not return calls and emails Monday from Stars and Stripes.

Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Nikkei that the decrease will “raise some eyebrows.”

The Air Force is halfway through a two-year plan to replace Kadena’s 48 F-15C/D fighters of the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons with rotating squadrons of more modern aircraft, including the fifth-generation F-35A and F-15E Strike Eagles.

Some F-15s from Kadena went to Air National Guard units in the United States or to the Air Force boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

The upgrade comes as tensions increase between the U.S. and China, a regional power the Pentagon has labeled an aggressive presence in the East and South China Seas and a global “pacing challenge,” according to the 2022 National Defense Strategy.

A spokeswoman for the Air Force declined to discuss the permanent deployment of fighters to Kadena.

“We continue to support the region with rotational fighters,” spokeswoman Ann Stefanek wrote by email Monday.

Jeffrey Hornung, a senior political scientist at Rand Corp., said having fewer fighters in one place is in line with the Air Force’s dispersal doctrine, agile combat employment. Agile combat employment calls for operations to shift from centralized air hubs to a network of smaller, dispersed sites or cluster bases.

Deploying fewer aircraft “is perhaps just them thinking, ‘OK, we will have access someplace in the region, whether that be Japan, Philippines, wherever,’” he told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. “You don’t want to put everything back into Kadena.”

Toshiyuki Shikata, a former lieutenant general in the Ground Self-Defense Force, agreed.

“It is better to have improved aircraft than keeping the aircraft with inferior quality in larger quantity,” Shikata said by phone Tuesday. “I believe the replacement will take place in a way that keeps deterrence.”

Permanently deploying Eagle IIs, even in fewer numbers, would show a U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan, Junjiro Shida, an associate professor of international politics at Meio University on Okinawa, said by phone Tuesday.

“Japan and the U.S. are developing a structure to jointly operate,” he said.

The F-15EX, made by Boeing, arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in March 2021. A two-seat aircraft operable by a single pilot, it comes with increased payload capacity and advanced avionics. It can carry hypersonic weapons designed to combat future near-peer adversaries.

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USAF announces winners of William Tell 2023 competition

The Air Force wrapped up its first William Tell Air-to-Air Competition in 19 years on Sept. 15, at the Air Dominance Center in Savannah, Georgia.
Airmen from across active and guard wings participated in William Tell 2023, which tested aircrew performance in air superiority, weapons and tactics use, weapons loading, maintenance, command and control, intelligence and weapons director competitions.

“Rule number one for fierce competitors is when the competition is over, you celebrate and congratulate the winners,” said Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of Air Combat Command.

The week-long event showcased the air-to-air capabilities of the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II and F-15 Eagle and Strike Eagle units representing various Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Force and Air National Guard units.

The winners were announced at the William Tell 2023 Closing Ceremonies Friday night.

2023 Winners:

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Eagle Country

William Tell competition is back

SAVANNAH AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ga.– The Air Dominance Center, also known as the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center, located here, will be the host venue for this year’s William Tell competition in coordination with Air Combat Command from Sept. 11-15, 2023, after a 19-year hiatus.

Nine different units, from active-duty, Air National Guard, and the Reserves will come together in a total force integrated environment to compete for both individual and team awards. For example, pilots will be tested on their offensive and defensive skills in maneuvers against enemy aircraft, and the best group will be hailed as the top “fighter integration team” in the Air Force’s very own version of “Top Gun”.

Units Participating:

AIR COMBAT COMMAND:
F-15E STRIKE EAGLE
4th Fighter Wing, Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC
366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home AFB, ID

F-22 RAPTOR
1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA

F-35 LIGHTNING II
388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, UT

PACIFIC AIR FORCES:
F-22 RAPTOR
3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
154th Fighter Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI

F-35 LIGHTNING II
354th Fighter Wing, Eielson AFB, AK

AIR NATIONAL GUARD:
F-15 C/D EAGLE
104th Fighter Wing, Barnes ANGB, MA

F-35 LIGHTNING II
158th Fighter Wing, Burlington ANGB, VT

C2 CAPABILITIES:
3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan
552 Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, OK

“If you’re into football, this is the Super Bowl, if you’re into baseball, this is the World Series and if you’re into golf, this is the Masters Tournament,” said Lt. Col. Stephen “Tracker” Thomas, the Air Dominance Center commander. “The airspace we have here on our coast is a national treasure and will allow the competing pilots the ability to operate to their absolute full potential to show who is truly the best of the best.”

The Air Dominance Center is conveniently located near several ideal training areas, including the Townsend Bombing Range and a military operations airspace ranging from Charleston, South Carolina to Orlando, Florida that makes it a one-of-a-kind training location for warfighters across the Department of Defense.

“We are a center that brings in units from across the country and provides a training venue like no other,” said Thomas. “We give Airmen the opportunity to train to their full operational level and that is exactly what these nine units attending the William Tell meet are going to do here in September,” said Thomas.

The historic competition, which has not been held since its 50th anniversary in 2004 due to the War on Terror, will simulate a multitude of air combat scenarios with 4th and 5th generation fighter aircraft acting as enemy “red teams” to prepare Airmen for real-life combat.

Thomas said there will be two events per day, with one launch starting around 8:00 a.m. and a second beginning in the afternoon around 1:00 p.m. each day. There will be a scoreboard announcement each evening that will be posted on social media and other channels that will be officially announced near the start of the competition.

“We want our community to be excited about this upcoming event and include them as much as possible,” said Thomas. “Although this event will not be open to the public, there will be plenty of jet sighting opportunities in the local area as well as photo and video coverage of the event published for public viewing.”

If members of the local community would like to learn more about the event, they can visit williamtell2023.com or check out the Air Dominance Center on Facebook or Instagram for further updates.

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Eagle Country

Legendary F-15 (86-0156) arrives at the Air Force Museum

(U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees)

Lt.Col. Matthew “Beast” Tanis, Director of Operations, 131st Fighter Squadron, 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts ANG, flew this F-15C Eagle 86-0156 to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on April 25, 2023 where it will become a part of the permanent collection.
For 78 days in 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) conducted an aerial bombing campaign over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known as Operation Allied Force. On March 26, Captain Jeff “Claw” Hwang piloted this F-15C as the Mission Commander for an air support mission. Nearing the Bosnian/Serbian border, he acquired a single radar contact. While he and his wingman tracked the bogey, Capt Hwang identified it as two targets in an enemy formation. Within ninety seconds of detecting the second aircraft, Capt Hwang fired two AIM-120 missiles in rapid succession from a distance of sixteen miles and achieved the F-15’s first double MiG-29 Fulcrum kill in the same engagement. For his heroic actions in
the March 26, 1999, Operation Allied Force sortie, Capt Hwang was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and named the 1999 Mackay Trophy recipient.

This F-15C is a significant addition to the collection because the F-15 has more air-to-air victories than any other U.S. fighter since the Vietnam War. The F-15C model accounts for all USAF aerial victories achieved by F-15s (except for anF-15E that destroyed a low-flying Mi-24 helicopter with a laser guided bomb during
Desert Storm). NMUSAF is bringing in this aircraft to preserve and display an F-15C with aerial victories.

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