Earlier this year, the United States Air Force‘s eighteenth Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS) at Kadena Air Base, Japan, was deactivated, and the final F-15C Eagle flew out of the base. 

The service announced last week that the previous F-15C departed on January 24 this year, marking the end of 45 years of flight operations from the base on Okinawa, known as the Keystone of the Pacific.

This followed a final ceremonial flight of the eighteenth Wing‘s F-15 Eagles last August. The future of the aging warbirds is still unknown. Still, there was speculation that the Eagles would be sent to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group‘s “Boneyard” for long-term storage and, in all likelihood, never to fly again. 

A few of the F-15Cs could be sent to another unit, including to the Air National Guard (ANG), while parts from the old aircraft could be used to keep other F-15s flying.

“To ensure no gaps in forward-deployed fighter capabilities, the Department of Defense will maintain a steady-state presence at Kadena by deploying fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft until the arrival of the F-15EX fleet,” the Air Force announced.

The F-15EX Eagle II Lands in Kadena

Even as the Eagles have come home to roost, the United States Air Force will maintain its presence at Kadena. Just as the eighteenth AMXS was deactivated, the 67th Fighter Generation Squadron was activated. U.S. Air Force Maj. 

Eric Boehm relinquished command of the former and received the guidon of the latter, which signaled his “assumption of command of the new squadron,” the base announced. It also marks the beginning of a new era for Kadena.

That will include the arrival of the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, with the first aircraft on track to arrive at the Keystone of the Pacific next year.

“We continue to seek ways to become a more capable and agile force,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Randy Schwinler, 18th Maintenance Group commander. 

“This Combat Oriented Maintenance Organization builds a strong mindset between maintainers and the respective flying squadrons, increasing operational readiness to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The Eagle IIs Will Hatch Next Year

The U.S. Air Force hasn‘t confirmed when the first F-15EX Eagles II will arrive at the base, but according to a report from Stars & Stripes, citing Brigadier General Nicholas Evans, it will likely be next spring, between March and June.

“As we get closer to the timeline, I expect we‘ll get more fidelity on exactly when the first couple aircraft will show up,” Evans told reporters last month.

Thirty-six advanced 4.5+ generation fighters will be based at Kadena, replacing the fleet of four dozen F-15C/D Eagles. Stars & Stripes added that it is “part of a broader plan to position more advanced fighter aircraft across Japan over the next several years.” 

In other words, the Air Force ensures that all its eggs aren‘t in one basket.

Will There Be Enough Eagle IIs at Kadena?

The U.S. Air Force is set to acquire at least ninety F-15EX, scaled back from the 144 aircraft the service had initially sought to replace its aging fleet of F-15C/D models currently in service. The first two aircraft are now in service with the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard, while a third, the first from Lot 2 production, was hatched last month and is scheduled for delivery to the unit.

Six Eagle IIs have also been delivered to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, for developmental and operational testing.

While fewer than a dozen are in service, the F-15EX has proven to have a significantly higher mission-capable rate than the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The Eagle II achieved an 83.13 percent mission-capable rate, compared with the Lightning II‘s MC rate of 67.15 percent for all variants, the Government Accountability Office wrote in its 2024 report.

That fact helps explain why key U.S. ally Israel has sought to acquire upwards of fifty F-15EX Eagle IIs, likely also because the Middle Eastern state has been one of the principal operators of the F-15. The original Eagle and Strike Eagle have more than 100 air-to-air victories, most with the Israeli Air Force, while not a single F-15 has been shot down to date.

The Eagle II: Not a Stealth Aircraft, but Still a Capable Warbird

The two-seat fighter offers twenty-first-century advancements to the proven Eagle, including new fly-by-wire flight controls, improved weapons stations, an enhanced electronic warfare suite, advanced radar and computer, conformal fuel tanks, and a strengthened airframe. 

The F-15EX also features a deep magazine that allows it to carry advanced weapons, and its payload is 28 percent larger than that of the older F-15E.

Moreover, the Eagle II requires only minimal transitional training and little additional workforce from the older versions of the F-15. Supporters of the platform suggest the Eagle II could be employed to escort high-value assets and serve in an air superiority role to counter missile threats while still being able to conduct air-to-ground precision strikes. 

In January, Boeing was awarded a $615 million Pentagon contract for the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) FRP. The contract will see the multirole aircraft updated with the kits through the end of 2030.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image: Shutterstock./ Peter R Foster

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