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F-15E Armed With Drone Killing Laser-Guided Rockets Appears In Middle East
We now have a picture showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle down-range in the Middle East with an air-to-air loadout that includes six seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as four AIM-9X and four AIM-120 missiles. This comes a week after TWZ was the first to report on testing of the laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets as a new armament option for the F-15E. As we noted at that time, the exact loadout we're now seeing on a deployed Strike Eagle turns the jet into a counter-drone and cruise missile 'weapons truck' with a whopping 50 engagement opportunities, not counting the internal gun. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted the picture in question, seen at the top of this story, today on social media with a basic caption offering no additional context. TWZ had reached out to CENTCOM and the Air Force for more information. U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 30, 2025 There are indications that the image was taken at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which has long been a known hub for U.S. F-15E operations in the region. Picture posted by USCENTCOM Twitter account showing an F-15E with an anti-UAV is: 31.827123, 36.797503 (Muwaffaq Salti AB, Jordan.F-15E is 87-0210 from 389th Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. — Evergreen Intel (@ 2025-05-30T17:47:36.641Z The image of the rocket-toting F-15E that had emerged last week via social media channels associated with The Merge military aviation podcast was taken at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, but it remains unclear when. 'The Eglin AFB test community through strong partnerships have aggressively conducted integrated test of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System,' Gabriel Myers, a spokesperson for the 96th Test Wing at Eglin, previously told TWZ when asked for more information about that picture. 'By working at speed to ensure advanced capabilities have the intended effects, we increase warfighter readiness and lethality to meet the global demands of the joint force.' The U.S. military still does not appear to have officially announced the integration of laser-guided APKWS II onto the F-15E. Originally designed as an air-to-ground munition, APKWS II is cleared for use on Air Force F-16C/D Vipers and A-10 Warthogs, as well as U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18C/D Hornets on the fixed-wing side. The precision-guided rockets are also part of the arsenals available for Marine AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, as well as U.S. Navy MH-60R/S Seahawks and U.S. Army AH-64D/E Apaches. Each APKWS II rocket consists of a laser guidance package inserted between a standard 70mm rocket motor and one of a variety of warhead options. Regardless, it is not at all surprising that an F-15E with the heavy rocket loadout has now emerged in the Middle East in an operational context. As we previously wrote: 'The Strike Eagle and APKWS II combo's potential in the air-to-air role that is perhaps most exciting. As we noted earlier, Air Force F-16s first began employing the laser-guided rockets in an anti-air optimized configuration to shoot down Houthi drones during operations over and around the Red Sea last year, which TWZ was first to report. The Air Force had announced back in 2019 that it had demonstrated APKWS II's ability to be used as an air-to-air weapon in a test wherein an F-16 downed a surrogate for a subsonic cruise missile, something we were also first to report on. APKWS II is also combat-proven in the surface-to-air role against drones, as well as in air-ground modes and surface-to-surface modes.' U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025 'Since January, F-16s have been observed flying the Middle East carrying air-to-air loadouts that include one or two seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as traditional air-to-air missiles and LITENING targeting pods. This had already underscored the magazine depth benefits of APKWS II. A typical air-to-air for the Viper consists of six air-to-air missiles. Just having a pair of rocket pods on one pylon effectively triples the number of anti-air engagement opportunities per sortie. The F-15E with six seven-shot rocket pods, along with eight air-to-air missiles, goes far beyond that capacity.' … 'Together with aerial refueling support, an F-15E armed with APKWS II rockets and traditional air-to-air missiles could provide a far more persistent counter-air screen with a huge magazine depth against drones and some cruise missile types. This kind of general scenario is what Air Force Strike Eagle crews found themselves in on multiple occasions while defending Israel from Iranian attacks last year, during which, running out of missiles became the limiting factor.' The F-15E also has the advantage of being a two-seat aircraft, which allows the pilot in front to focus on flying the plane while the back-seater engages targets in the air or on the ground and performs other tasks. It is worth mentioning that Muwaffaq Salti was a major staging point for the aforementioned F-15E sorties in the defense of Israel last year. Stunning accounts of those operations have since emerged. This includes at least one instance in which a Strike Eagle crew switched to the jet's 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon after running out of missiles, but was unable to shoot down anything with the gun. It would make sense that an APKWS II capability for the F-15E, particularly for use in the air-to-air role, would have been rushed into service after those experiences, and subsequently fielded to Strike Eagle units deployed in Jordan. APKWS II is limited in the air-to-air role to engaging non-reactionary, low-performance targets that fly along relatively steady courses like one-way-attack drones and subsonic cruise missiles. Currently, targets have to be manually designated, or 'lazed,' throughout the entire course of the engagement, as well. APKWS II's prime contractor, BAE Systems, is now working on a dual-mode guidance package that incorporates an infrared seeker that is designed to offer a pseudo-fire-and-forget capability to make it easier to move on from engaging on target to the next, as you can read more about here. At the same time, the aforementioned magazine depth, together with the lower unit cost of an APKWS II rocket compared to traditional air-to-air missiles, offers clear benefits. The latest variants of the AIM-120 cost around $1 million apiece, while current-generation AIM-9Xs each have a price tag around $450,000. The most expensive part of an APKWS II rocket is the guidance section, which costs between $15,000 and $20,000, with the rocket motor and warhead adding a few thousand dollars more to the total price point. As shown by the F-15E in the newly released picture, air-to-air loadouts incorporating APKWS II can also still include air-to-air missiles for prosecuting more demanding threats. It remains likely that APKWS II will be integrated onto further fixed-wing aircraft in the future for use in the air-to-air role, such as the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The Air Force's F-15E Strike Eagle fleet has now gotten a major firepower boost, especially for hunting down incoming drones and cruise missiles. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
F-15E Spotted Packing Big Laser-Guided Rocket Arsenal Ideal For Drone Hunting
A picture has emerged showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle loaded with at least three seven-shot 70mm rocket pods under its left wing. If the jet had three more pods on the right side, this would amount to a whopping 42 rockets, which could be carried together with eight traditional air-to-air missiles. Such a loadout would turn the F-15E in a flying counter-drone and cruise missile arsenal ship capable of an incredible 50 engagement opportunities, minus the gun. The Air Force has already proven the extreme value of laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets in the air-to-air role in combat on the F-16, news TWZ first broke earlier this year and has continued to follow very closely. Integrating APKWS II into the F-15E's arsenal isn't surprising, especially considering how active these aircraft have been in countering lower-performing aerial threats. The picture of the rocket-armed F-15E, seen below, first appeared on social media accounts for The Merge, a military aviation podcast and associated newsletter, yesterday. 'An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle testing laser-guided rockets was spotted with a 6-pod 42-rocket loadout in flight test,' The Merge wrote in an accompanying post on Instagram. That's a beast-mode-for-drones loadout. — The Merge (@MergeNewsletter) May 22, 2025 Though The Merge says the aircraft was carrying six rocket pods at the time, only three are clearly visible in the image on the jet's left underwing pylon, but a symmetric load makes perfect sense. Pods full of laser-guided APKWS II rockets are relatively easy to spot since the weapons are longer than unguided 70mm types and their noses protrude noticeably from the front as a result. As it exists now, APKWS II consists primarily of a laser guidance section sandwiched between one of a variety of warhead types and a standard 70mm rocket motor. In addition to the rocket pods, the Strike Eagle has an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) without control fins and a flight test data pod under its left wing. An AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) and an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod (which incorporates a forward-looking infrared sensor and a terrain-following radar) are seen loaded on the stations under the jet's left and right air intakes, respectively. The F-15E seen in the picture also has an 'ET' tail code, reflecting an aircraft assigned to the 96th Test Wing headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. 'I can confirm the pic was taken here at Eglin AFB,' Gabriel Myers, a spokesperson for the 96th Test Wing, told TWZ when asked for more information about the image of the rocket-toting F-15E. 'The Eglin AFB test community through strong partnerships have aggressively conducted integrated test of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System. By working at speed to ensure advanced capabilities have the intended effects, we increase warfighter readiness and lethality to meet the global demands of the joint force.' When the F-15E might be cleared to operationally employ APKWS II rockets is unclear. 'Unfortunately, we can't speak to specific timelines [for the test work], but we can say it was done rapidly,' Myers continued. In U.S. service, on the fixed-wing side, the precision-guided rockets have been integrated onto Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18C/D Hornets and U.S. Air Force F-16C/D Vipers and A-10 Warthogs. Marine AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, as well as U.S. Navy MH-60R/S Seahawks and U.S. Army AH-64D/E Apaches, can also employ APKWS II. A full air-to-air loadout for the F-15E currently consists of eight missiles. Four missiles – either short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders or AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) – can be loaded on launch rails on either side of the Strike Eagle's two underwing pylons. Two more AIM-120s can be carried on pylons on each of the conformal fuel tanks (CFT) attached to the sides of the fuselage. The jets can also carry a wide array of air-to-ground munitions and other stores on the pylons under their wings, on the CFTs, and on their ventral centerline hardpoint. Adding APKWS II to the F-15E's already very expansive arsenal would give the jet an additional lower-cost tool for precisely engaging a variety of ground targets, as well. These can include light armored vehicles. As the newly emerged picture highlights in showing 21 engagement opportunities on a single pylon, the laser-guided rockets offer significant benefits when it comes to magazine depth. But it's the Strike Eagle and APKWS II combo's potential in the air-to-air role that is perhaps most exciting. As we noted earlier, Air Force F-16s first began employing the laser-guided rockets in an anti-air optimized configuration to shoot down Houthi drones during operations over and around the Red Sea last year, which TWZ was first to report. The Air Force had announced back in 2019 that it had demonstrated APKWS II's ability to be used as an air-to-air weapon in a test wherein an F-16 downed a surrogate for a subsonic cruise missile, something we were also first to report on. APKWS II is also combat-proven in the surface-to-air role against drones, as well as in air-ground modes and surface-to-surface modes. U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025 Since January, F-16s have been observed flying the Middle East carrying air-to-air loadouts that include one or two seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as traditional air-to-air missiles and LITENING targeting pods. This had already underscored the magazine depth benefits of APKWS II. A typical air-to-air for the Viper consists of six air-to-air missiles. Just having a pair of rocket pods on one pylon effectively triples the number of anti-air engagement opportunities per sortie. The F-15E with six seven-shot rocket pods, along with eight air-to-air missiles, goes far beyond that capacity. APKWS II is also a significantly lower-cost anti-air weapon than traditional air-to-air missiles in U.S. military inventory today. The APKWS II guidance kit, which is the most expensive part of the munition, has a unit cost of around $15,000 to $20,000. The warhead and motor add a few thousand dollars more to the total unit price. Current generation AIM-9X Sidewinders each cost in the region of $450,000, while the latest AIM-120 variants are $1 million or more apiece. Even with the air-to-air specific upgrades developed for APKWS II, it does still has limitations when employed against aerial threats, as TWZ has noted in the past in the context of F-16 counter-drone missions: 'In an air-to-air engagement, the laser designator in the LITENING pod could be used to 'laze' or designate the target. LITENING's sensor turret can be slaved to the radar on the aircraft carrying it, or vice versa. So-called buddy lasing, where one aircraft designates the target for another, could also be useful in this case, especially given the speed differential between typical Houthi drones and F-16s. One jet could keep the target steadily lazed while the other makes its attack run.' 'APKWS IIs are usable against drones, as well as subsonic cruise missiles, in the first place because those are relatively steady, non-reactionary, low-performance targets. The rockets are not dogfighting weapons.' BAE Systems, the prime contractor for the APKWS II, is now developing a dual-mode guidance package that adds a passive infrared seeker to give the rocket a quasi-fire-and-forget capability. A laser designator would still be needed to provide initial cueing, but the launch platform would be able to move much more rapidly from engaging one target to the next with the addition of the infrared guidance mode, as you can read more about here. Pairing F-15E with APKWS II, even just with the guided rocket's existing capabilities, would offer additional advantages in the air-to-air role given the range and endurance of the Strike Eagle, as well as its substantial overall payload capacity. The F-15E is also a two-seat aircraft, which allows the pilot to remain fully focused on flying the aircraft while the back-seater handles targeting duties. Together with aerial refueling support, an F-15E armed with APKWS II rockets and traditional air-to-air missiles could provide a far more persistent counter-air screen with a huge magazine depth against drones and some cruise missile types. This kind of general scenario is what Air Force Strike Eagle crews found themselves in on multiple occasions while defending Israel from Iranian attacks last year, during which, running out of missiles became the limiting factor. Specifically, while responding to Iran's drone and missile attacks on Israel in April 2024, F-15Es had to land to rearm while threats were still flying overhead. At least one Strike Eagle crew switched to their aircraft's 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon after running out of missiles, but was unable to shoot anything down. 'The drone war is kind of like a video game. You just gotta get the jets up in the air and position them correctly for an intercept. The radar will easily see them after they're launched and then it's just how many missiles you have versus how many drones are launched. The technical aspect of detecting them and downing them is easy,' Daren 'Shotgun' Sorenson, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew F-15Es, told TWZ in an interview last summer. 'It's easy work. You can do it all day long until you run out of missiles.' The Air Force also recently sent a detachment of F-15Es to the highly strategic island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, explicitly to provide force protection for forces currently there, including B-52 bombers, a deployment TWZ was first to report. This only further underscores the key role Strike Eagles are already playing in shielding high-value assets, especially from drones and cruise missiles. All of this also applies at least equally, if not more so, to the Air Force's incoming F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. The F-15EX is the latest and most capable variant to emerge in the extended Strike Eagle family, and is expected to be used primarily in the homeland air defense role in U.S. service, at least initially. Last year, TWZ laid out in detail how the Strike Eagle's performance in the anti-air role in the Middle East had bolstered the case for the EX in U.S. and Israeli service. Indonesia also plans to buy F-15s derived from the EX variant, and other foreign customers, including Poland, could be on the horizon. 'The proliferation of one-way attack drones is driving a massive demand signal for counter-UAS capabilities,' The Merge also told TWZ directly when asked about the picture of the rocket-armed Strike Eagle. 'The cost exchange afforded by APKWS rockets–and the flexibility and magazine depth by putting them on the F-15E/X–should make a meaningful difference.' Adding APKWS II to the F-15E's arsenal, especially for air-to-air use, could be a factor in ongoing debates about the future of the Air Force's Strike Eagles, as well. Congress recently blocked the service, at least until 2027, from pursuing plans to retire more than half of the heavily in-demand Strike Eagle fleet. It would also not be surprising at all to see APKWS II join already growing air-to-air loadouts available to U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. A year ago, Houthi drone threats in and around the Red Sea had already prompted that service to launch a crash program to increase the number of AIM-9Xs a Super Hornet could carry on a single sortie. The Navy has since officially dubbed F/A-18E/Fs armed with five AIM-120s and four AIM-9Xs as 'Murder Hornets.' Regardless of the threat of partial retirement, many F-15Es remain in Air Force service in the coming years, there are clear signs the jets are now in line to get an important firepower boost, including when it comes to shooting down drones, in the form of APKWS II. Howard Altman and Tyler Rogoway contributed to this story. Special thanks to The Merge for sharing the picture of the rocket-armed F-15E and additional information. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
F-15E Strike Eagles To Leave England For Good
The U.S. Air Force is planning to return its F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath in England and consolidate its fleet stateside. Currently, the F-15Es in the United Kingdom are the only permanently forward-deployed examples of the aircraft, which remain the service's first choice for a wide variety of critical missions around the globe. Confirmation of the plan to bring the two squadrons of F-15Es back from Lakenheath was provided yesterday by Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Allvin. This came during a hearing on the Posture of the Department of the Air Force in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2026, held by the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Senator Theodore P. Budd of North Carolina asked Allvin about the plans for the Lakenheath Strike Eagles, in relation to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the same state. This base is currently home to F-15E frontline and training squadrons under the 4th Fighter Wing. 'One thing that stuck out to me was the arrival of the F-35s at Lakenheath Air Base, and that once they are up and running, two Strike Eagle units will be returning stateside,' Budd said. 'Has a decision been made on where those aircraft will end up?' Allvin responded that a final decision on the relocation was still to be made, but confirmed that the two F-15E squadrons would be coming back to the United States. A timeline for the move was not provided. Allvin noted that the Lakenheath F-15Es are equipped with the significantly more powerful F100-PW-229 turbofans, in contrast to those at Seymour Johnson, which use the older Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 engines. Of the 218 F-15Es in the Air Force inventory, 119 are powered by the Dash 220 turbofan engines that produce some 23,500 pounds of thrust each. The other 99 have the F100-PW-229s, each of which is rated at 29,000 pounds of thrust. Allvin further observed that Seymour Johnson 'will be critical to the F-15E and F-15EX community as far as the training unit and the operational unit for the E, so that certainly is an attractive landing spot right now.' The Air Force boss agreed with Budd's assessment that an influx of younger and more capable F-15E airframes to Seymour Johnson would be a good way of ensuring the futures of both the combat and training missions at the base. This would become even more relevant if the Air Force follows through with its aspiration to retire the F100-PW-220-powered jets, which it had previously planned to do by the end of Fiscal Year 2028. Regardless of where the Lakenheath F-15Es end up, it's significant that the Air Force is planning to remove these jets from England. Currently, Lakenheath is home to the 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons flying the F-15E. These squadrons each have a primary aircraft assigned (PAA) complement of 26 aircraft, although this is subject to some fluctuation. Under the 48th Fighter Wing, these operate alongside the 493rd and 495th Fighter Squadrons flying the F-35A, the first of the Air Force's stealth jets to be based in Europe. As well as being fitted with the -229 engines, Lakenheath's F-15Es have been at the front of the queue to receive a sophisticated new radar warning and electronic warfare suite, the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, which you can read more about here. The first F-15E equipped with the advanced EPAWSS Electronic Warfare system takes off from San Antonio and heads home to the @ next-gen tech enhances pilot situational awareness and ensures the F-15 can tackle modern threats. — Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) January 17, 2025 EPAWSS is part of a rolling program of upgrades for the F-15E in recent years. Other work has included adding the Raytheon AN/APG-82 AESA radar, which is also integrated into the electronic warfare system as it is a highly capable electronic attack weapon in its own right. Certain niche capabilities have also been added to the jets, such as the AN/ASQ-236 Dragon's Eye radar pod that you can read about in this previous feature. New weapons and weapon configurations have also appeared, adding to the F-15E's versatility. Overall, however, there is still uncertainty about what the Air Force's Strike Eagle fleet might look like in the future. This time last year, TWZ reported on the effort of members of Congress to block Air Force plans to send more than half of its F-15E fleet to the boneyard in the coming years. The Air Force argues that it needs to retire its older F-15Es to help free up resources for its future modernization plans, but lawmakers have been concerned about dwindling numbers of available tactical aircraft if this were to happen. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, an annual defense policy bill, blocked the Air Force from retiring more than 68 F-15Es before the end of Fiscal Year 2029. Just last month, the F-15E was mentioned in proposed legislation put forward by Republican leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The proposed spending plan includes $127.46 million 'to prevent the retirement of F-15E aircraft,' with the exception of 'individual F-15E aircraft that the Secretary of the Air Force determines, on a case by case basis, to be no longer mission capable and uneconomical to repair because of aircraft accidents, mishaps, or excessive material degradation and non-airworthiness status of certain aircraft.' In the meantime, the F-15E remains a highly prized asset, selected for a variety of high-profile operational missions, a fact underlined in April 2024 when the aircraft shot down more than 70 Iranian drones heading for Israel. Moreover, the Lakenheath F-15E fleet, in particular, has been something of an on-call force for operations throughout Europe and the Middle East. High-profile activities have included everything from long-range strikes in Libya to supporting constant operations in Syria. TWZ has reached out to the 48th Fighter Wing for more details about its future plans, although the most likely option would appear to be the replacement of the F-15Es with additional F-35As. However, it's unclear if these would be fielded in the form of a like-for-like replacement in both squadrons, to maintain the current four-squadron structure. It's also worth bearing in mind that the plans to relocate F-15Es from England are also dependent on being able to deliver and sustain combat-capable F-35As over the next decade, something that Senator Budd referred to yesterday. As we have reported in the past, there have been some significant problems in realizing this goal. Due to problems with the aircraft's critical Tech Refresh 3 software, or TR-3, production deliveries of the F-35 were suspended for around a year. In July 2024, it was confirmed that deliveries of the stealth fighters would resume 'in the near future,' clearing a backlog of jets sitting in storage, although the TR-3 would still only be installed in what's described as a 'truncated' form. This raises questions about when the F-35 will actually be able to make full use of the long-awaited Block 4 improvements that this software underpins. Concerns with getting fully capable F-35As online and in sufficient numbers have, in the past, seen Congress oppose Air Force plans to retire combat aircraft, and the relocation of F-15Es from Lakenheath to the United States could still face resistance. Nevertheless, the F-35A is now firmly embedded at Lakenheath, where it seems they will be provided with forward-deployed B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs. Earlier this year, we reported on new evidence of construction work on protective shelters at the base, pointing to the fact that the United States is poised to bring nuclear bombs back to the United Kingdom after nearly two decades. When combined with the stealthy F-35A, the B61-12 is increasingly being viewed as a strategic weapons-delivery system, as well as being a tactical strike asset, and would be a significant advance over the F-15E in the same role. The F-35As could possibly be paired with Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in the coming years, although at this stage, these drones are not set to be a direct replacement for crewed aircraft, especially not the two-seat F-15E. The F-15EX could be another option to replace F-15Es at Lakenheath, and an argument could be made that the combination of F-35A and F-15EX would be the optimum way of ensuring dominance in air superiority and air-to-ground, and meeting the demand of high-tempo deployments. While planned F-15EX numbers have fluctuated, the Air Force most recently said it wants to buy 98 F-15EX aircraft. A fleet of 98 F-15EX aircraft is just about sufficient for five operational squadrons of 18 aircraft, plus a handful of training and test aircraft. Air National Guard units in California, Louisiana, Michigan, and Oregon are all slated to get the F-15EX. With plans to field the F-15EX with the active-duty Air Force at Kadena Air Base in Japan, current numbers wouldn't support their fielding at Lakenheath, too. While the future shape of the U.S. Air Force's F-15E fleet is still to be determined, and with the service clearly still working out where it should be based, it seems that it's now very much set on removing its Strike Eagles from Lakenheath. Contact the author: thomas@
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Stages Massive Show of Force at Frontline Base in Pacific
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States has staged a show of force with over 50 military aircraft and a pair of missile launchers at Kadena Air Base in Japan, its frontline outpost in the Western Pacific Ocean. Why It Matters Kadena Air Base is located on the island of Okinawa in the southwestern waters of Japan. The American military hub is about 370 miles away from Taiwan, making it the closest U.S. air base to the self-governed island. China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, threatening to use force against the U.S. security partner. The U.S. Air Force is currently upgrading its permanent fighter jet presence at Kadena, which will see the replacement of F-15C/D aircraft with more advanced F-15EX jets. The base will maintain a rotational presence of fighter aircraft during this transition period. U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy assets line up on the runway for an "elephant walk" at Kadena Air Base in Japan on May 6, 2025. U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy assets line up on the runway for an "elephant walk" at Kadena Air Base in Japan on May 6, 2025. Senior Airman Tylir Meyer/U.S. Air Force What To Know The U.S. Air Force 18th Wing, the host unit for Kadena, assembled what it called "one of the most diverse formations" of U.S. military aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday, showing combat readiness and regional deterrence, the unit said in a press release. The majority of aircraft in the formation were from the Air Force, including 24 F-35A stealth fighter jets, eight F-15E fighter aircraft, six HH-60 helicopters, six KC-135 aerial refueling tanker aircraft, two MQ-9 drones, two MC-130J combat transport and special operations tanker aircraft, one RC-135 spy plane, and one E-3G early warning and control aircraft. Both the F-35A and F-15E jets were recently sent to Okinawa from their home bases in the U.S., forming the latest fighter aircraft rotation. The former were deployed from Alaska and Utah in two squadrons, while the latter was originally based in North Carolina. A pair of EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft and a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft from the U.S. Navy, as well as two U.S. Army MIM-104 surface-to-air missile launchers, commonly known as the Patriot, also took part in the event, which is known as an "elephant walk." "Elephant walk" is a term for a close formation of aircraft taxiing en masse before takeoff, which tests the ability to generate as many sorties as possible in a minimal amount of time. In January, Kadena also conducted an "elephant walk" with at least nine KC-135 aerial refueling tanker aircraft, highlighting their strategic capabilities, the 18th Wing said. U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Nicholas Evans, commander of the 18th Wing, said the base "stands ready to project airpower" to ensure the Indo-Pacific region is free and open. What People Are Saying The U.S. Air Force 18th Wing said: "The sheer diversity of capabilities in this exercise is a testament to the lethality Kadena can leverage to deter adversarial aggression in the Indo-Pacific region." U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Brandon Wolfgang of the 18th Wing said: "An elephant walk like this sends a message you can't ignore—it shows our airmen, allies, and adversaries that we're united, capable, and ready…This kind of teamwork and presence is exactly how we maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific." What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether other U.S. air bases in the Indo-Pacific will conduct "elephant walks" to demonstrate America's air power in the contested region.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
First female Thunderbird pilot removed from Air Force website
(U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.) — In an effort to comply with directives made by the Trump Administration, the U.S. Air Force recently removed online content honoring several trailblazing female pilots, including the first woman to fly with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, commonly known as the Thunderbirds. According to the Department of Defense, Colonel Nichole Malachowski became the first woman in history to fly with the Thunderbirds in 2006, and she went on to be the Commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron, where she trained more than 200 students to fly the F-15E fighter jet. She quickly amassed more than 1,600 flying hours, including 185 hours of combat time. During the week of April 14, all information acknowledging her military career vanished from the Air Force's website, but has since been re-uploaded. FOX21 News reached out for comment and received the following: The U.S. Air Force salutes Col. Malachowski's service as a leader, warfighter and pilot. Digital content related to her career is currently being restored across all Air Force platforms. We continue to review all content under our purview to comply with Defense Department directives while honoring our history. Air Force Spokesperson Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
