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End of an Era: 173rd FW trains the last F-15 Eagle Instructor Pilots

By Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson

The journey begins at Undergraduate Pilot Training or maybe long, long before, but for this account an Air Force pilot starts the road to the cockpit at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, in the T-6 Texan, a 1,200 horsepower propeller-driven trainer. From there, they have to find their way in a T-38 supersonic jet trainer, if they make the cut for fighter aircraft.

A fledgling fighter-pilot-in-the-making then heads to Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio—a quick primer, smoothing the transition to warfighting aircraft.

Some of these students track to the F-15 and travel to Kingsley Field to test themselves against the 173rd Fighter Wing B-Course and learn to fly the Eagle, the venerated fighter aircraft boasting an undefeated combat record and bearing the moniker WGASF—world’s greatest air superiority fighter.

None of this is easy, but once a student steps into the ranks of Eagle drivers it’s time to relax, having arrived at their goal … right?

“No. Never,” says Capt. Andrew Marshall, an F-15 pilot with the 550th Fighter Squadron, with a laugh.

Marshall has navigated this path over the last seven years, since graduating from the University of Colorado ROTC program, and is now making his way into the ranks of F-15C instructor pilots at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Capt. Andrew Marshall, an F-15C pilot with the 550th Fighter Squadron, suits up for another sortie on his way to becoming a rated instructor pilot in the Eagle, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Jan. 18, 2024. He and one other pilot are the last two selected in the U.S. Air Force to receive this upgrade training, signaling the end of an era as future pilots at the 173rd Fighter Wing will convert to the F-35 airframe. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

“I’m hoping to get it done within six months, that’s my personal goal,” he said. “But there’s a lot of other factors—TDYs, weather—all those different things can get in the way of keeping the momentum going. It definitely is a period where you’re just working, working, working…you’re studying all the time.”

He says there are 11 thresholds to cross to become a rated instructor pilot beginning with close-range dogfighting and progressing to a very broad scenario involving many aircraft performing defensive counter-air and everything in between, and a couple of “top-off” events following that.

“I’ve made it through the first two events so far, and it took me seven flights to do it,” adding that the syllabus somewhat mirrors that of his first years at Kadena Air Base, getting his flight lead ratings cumulating with a mission commander upgrade where he controlled 20 fighter aircraft, two tankers and an AWACS.

“It was intense, probably the most stressful experience of my Air Force career,” he said.

He’ll do it again and the difference this time will be one of fine-tuning.

“Now you’re doing it at a higher level,” he explains. “It’s much more refinement in how you go through the instructor upgrade; now you have to be able to not only understand and do it yourself but you have to convey that knowledge and execute it in a way that shows credibility as an instructor.”

apt. Andrew Marshall, an F-15C pilot with the 550th Fighter Squadron, steps to his jet along with two other pilots on a chilly January morning, Jan. 18, 2024, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He is working his way through the process to become a rated instructor pilot in the Eagle, and will be one of the two last to accomplish this as the Air Force transitions away from the venerable fighter to the F-35. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

It’s a new process for him, but many have gone before him over nearly four decades of service from the Eagle. He and one other pilot are likely the last.

The Air Force at-large has divested itself of nearly all F-15 Eagle aircraft, most recently deactivating squadrons at Kadena Air Base and transferring those aircraft to the Air National Guard, rendering the future need for instructor pilots minimal. But as with any program there are always the final students.

Marshall says this career trajectory suits him very well and he feels it positions him well for a likely airframe conversion to the F-35 Lightning II, which is slated to arrive at Kingsley Field in 2026 .

He sums up his career choice saying, “It’s one of the best jobs in the world and you have some of the best camaraderie with your pilots and your fellow servicemembers.”

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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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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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F-15EX (No. 3) flies for the 1st time

After more than two years after the type’s first flight, Boeing flew for the first time the third F-15EX Eagle II, which is also the first to be built in the final operational configuration. The aircraft flew only with its primer paint and a small serial number (20-0003) on its twin tails, and will receive its final colors and insignias before the delivery to the U.S. Air Force.