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A Boeing F-15C has completed the final flight by the aircraft’s active-duty fleet earlier this year, marking the end of 46 years of operational service by the twin-engine air superiority fighter.
The last F-15C flight for a U.S.-operated Eagle came on Jan. 24 at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The final aircraft will be converted to a maintenance trainer.
In the short term, the F-15Cs will be replaced at Kadena by rotational deployments of other fighters. Lockheed Martin F-35As from Alaska and F-15Es from North Carolina landed on Kadena April 3-6.
“Rotational aircraft are a normal part of Kadena’s operations, and their presence ensures the continuation of our long-standing mission to defend Japan and maintain an open and free Indo-Pacific,” said Col. David Deptula, 18th Operations Group commander.
The Air Force plans to base a squadron of F-15EX Eagle IIs at Kadena starting next year. The F-15EX features an upgraded electronic-warfare system, upgraded cockpit and fly-by-wire flight controls.
Kadena now is a staging base for disparate fighter operations on bases around the Western Pacific.
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