{"id":22538908,"date":"2026-09-15T15:18:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T13:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/barnes-104th-fighter-wing-f-35a-transition-f-15-eagle-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T15:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T13:19:13","slug":"barnes-104th-fighter-wing-f-35a-transition-f-15-eagle-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/barnes-104th-fighter-wing-f-35a-transition-f-15-eagle-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Barnes F-35A: The 104th Fighter Wing Ends 18 Years of Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>In October 2025, three <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-15-eagle\/\">F-15 Eagles<\/a> took off from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Massachusetts, and did not come back. That was the end of eighteen years of Eagle operations by the 104th Fighter Wing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>One of the pilots in that final three-ship was Capt. Kyle Eckert, callsign Nuke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On Sunday he stood on the same ramp as one of the wing&rsquo;s first <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35A<\/a> pilots.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#222\">Quick Facts<\/p><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6\"><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Unit<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard, nicknamed the Barnestormers<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Base<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Ceremony<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">13 September 2026<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>First aircraft arrival<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">11 June 2026; the September event was the formal transition ceremony<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Replaces<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">F-15C and F-15D Eagle, flown at Barnes for 18 years<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Last Eagles departed<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">October 2025, in a three-ship<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Decision<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">Record of decision issued December 2024<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 12px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Mission<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0;color:#222\">24-hour alert site for United States airspace defence, plus expeditionary tasking<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The full circle<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Unit conversions produce a lot of press releases and not much feeling. This one had a line in it worth keeping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;It was an honor to be a part of the final three-ship of Eagles to leave Barnes back in October of 2025. To now be one of the first F-35A pilots at Barnes Air National Guard Base is an amazing full circle moment.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Capt. Kyle &ldquo;Nuke&rdquo; Eckert<\/strong> &mdash; F-35A pilot, 104th Fighter Wing<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That is the whole transition in two sentences: the same pilot, the same ramp, eleven months and one generation of fighter apart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/104th-fighter-wing-f-15-eagle-barnes.jpg\" alt=\"An F-15 Eagle of the 104th Fighter Wing taking off from Barnes\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A 104th Fighter Wing F-15 Eagle departing Barnes. The wing flew the type for 18 years; the last three left in October 2025. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What actually happened on 13 September<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>A small correction to some of the coverage, because it matters for anybody tracking the conversion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The 104th&rsquo;s first four F-35As reached Barnes on 11 June 2026. The 13 September event was the official welcome ceremony, marking the formal transition of the wing&rsquo;s mission rather than the aircraft&rsquo;s first landing. That is a normal sequence for an Air National Guard conversion, where jets arrive as aircrew and maintainers finish qualifying and the ceremony follows once the unit can actually employ them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The groundwork went back further. The record of decision came in December 2024. Then came sunshades, F-35-specific support equipment, and the unglamorous business of retraining an entire maintenance group from a 1970s air superiority fighter to a fifth-generation strike aircraft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z4RmGxUZfhI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why a Guard wing gets the newest fighter<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>There is an old assumption that the Air National Guard flies whatever the active-duty force has finished with. That stopped being true some time ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Vermont&rsquo;s 158th Fighter Wing was the first Guard unit to take the F-35A, and Alabama, Wisconsin, Florida and now Massachusetts have followed. The reason is geography: the units that sit alert over American cities are Guard units, and the aircraft sitting on those alert pads is the aircraft that would meet whatever arrives uninvited in US airspace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Barnes runs one of those alert sites around the clock. Which is also why the standard Air Force line about the F-35 replacing ageing F-16s and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/a-10-warthog\/\">A-10s<\/a> does not quite fit here: at Westfield it replaced Eagles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/air-national-guard-f-35a-lightning-ii-pair.jpg\" alt=\"A pair of Air National Guard F-35A Lightning II fighters\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Air National Guard F-35As. The Guard now flies a substantial share of America&rsquo;s fifth-generation fleet rather than inheriting hand-me-downs. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two hundred and fifty years of it<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The 104th traces its lineage to a National Guard first formed in Massachusetts more than two and a half centuries ago, which gives ceremonies like this a longer shadow than most unit conversions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;For generations, men and women at the 104th Fighter Wing have answered the call, protected the skies, served our state, and defended our country. The arrival of the F-35A represents a new chapter for this great military installation here.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Maura Healey<\/strong> &mdash; Governor of Massachusetts, speaking at the ceremony<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Representatives of the Kenyan and Paraguayan militaries were in the audience, both State Partnership Program partners of the Massachusetts Guard. Gen. Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, told the Barnestormers they would be ready when the call came. Governors say chapters, generals say readiness, and the pilots mostly want to know when they get their first sortie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Eighteen years is a long time to fly one aeroplane. The Eagle at Barnes outlasted several wars, a base realignment fight and more than one attempt to take the mission away. Its replacement will probably still be there in 2060, which is roughly the point Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe was making when he called the F-35 a cornerstone of national security for the next fifty years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>When did the F-35A arrive at Barnes Air National Guard Base?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The 104th Fighter Wing held its official welcome ceremony for the F-35A Lightning II on 13 September 2026. The wing&rsquo;s first four aircraft had actually landed at Barnes earlier, on 11 June 2026; the September event marked the formal transition of the unit&rsquo;s mission rather than the first arrival.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What aircraft did the F-35A replace at Barnes?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The F-15C and F-15D Eagle. The 104th Fighter Wing flew the Eagle at Barnes for 18 years, and the last three aircraft departed in October 2025. Note that the US Air Force&rsquo;s standard F-35 boilerplate describes the type as replacing F-16s and A-10s, which is true across the service but not at Barnes.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What does the 104th Fighter Wing actually do?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">It runs a 24-hour alert mission defending United States airspace, alongside the expeditionary tasking that comes with being a fighter wing. The unit is nicknamed the Barnestormers and is based at Westfield, Massachusetts. Its lineage traces back to a National Guard first formed in Massachusetts more than 250 years ago.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When was the decision to convert Barnes to the F-35 made?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The wing received the official record of decision in December 2024, finalising the replacement of the F-15 Eagle with the F-35A. Preparation then involved constructing sunshades and other infrastructure, taking delivery of F-35-specific support equipment, and retraining maintainers and aircrew.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who attended the ceremony?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey spoke, alongside Gen. Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, and Col. Michael &ldquo;Shot&rdquo; Glass, the wing commander. Representatives of the Kenyan and Paraguayan militaries attended as part of the State Partnership Program.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many Air National Guard units fly the F-35A?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Several, and the number is growing. Vermont&rsquo;s 158th Fighter Wing was the first Air National Guard unit to receive the type, and Alabama, Wisconsin and Florida units have since converted or begun converting. The Guard now flies a meaningful share of America&rsquo;s fifth-generation fighter force rather than inheriting cast-offs.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did the F-35A arrive at Barnes Air National Guard Base?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The 104th Fighter Wing held its official welcome ceremony for the F-35A Lightning II on 13 September 2026. The wing\u2019s first four aircraft had actually landed at Barnes earlier, on 11 June 2026; the September event marked the formal transition of the unit\u2019s mission rather than the first arrival.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What aircraft did the F-35A replace at Barnes?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The F-15C and F-15D Eagle. The 104th Fighter Wing flew the Eagle at Barnes for 18 years, and the last three aircraft departed in October 2025. Note that the US Air Force\u2019s standard F-35 boilerplate describes the type as replacing F-16s and A-10s, which is true across the service but not at Barnes.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What does the 104th Fighter Wing actually do?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"It runs a 24-hour alert mission defending United States airspace, alongside the expeditionary tasking that comes with being a fighter wing. The unit is nicknamed the Barnestormers and is based at Westfield, Massachusetts. Its lineage traces back to a National Guard first formed in Massachusetts more than 250 years ago.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When was the decision to convert Barnes to the F-35 made?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The wing received the official record of decision in December 2024, finalising the replacement of the F-15 Eagle with the F-35A. Preparation then involved constructing sunshades and other infrastructure, taking delivery of F-35-specific support equipment, and retraining maintainers and aircrew.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who attended the ceremony?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey spoke, alongside Gen. Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, and Col. Michael \\\"Shot\\\" Glass, the wing commander. Representatives of the Kenyan and Paraguayan militaries attended as part of the State Partnership Program.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many Air National Guard units fly the F-35A?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Several, and the number is growing. Vermont\u2019s 158th Fighter Wing was the first Air National Guard unit to receive the type, and Alabama, Wisconsin and Florida units have since converted or begun converting. The Guard now flies a meaningful share of America\u2019s fifth-generation fighter force rather than inheriting cast-offs.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: 104th Fighter Wing \/ DVIDS, Massachusetts National Guard, Defence Blog, aeroTELEGRAPH, WWLP.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fq-42-vengeance-fq-44-fury-usaf-500-cca-2032\/\">FQ-42 Vengeance and FQ-44 Fury: USAF Wants 500 CCAs by 2032<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-117-nighthawk-85-0818-smithsonian-udvar-hazy-2026\/\">F-117 Nighthawk 85-0818: The Smithsonian Gets The Overachiever<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In October 2025, three F-15 Eagles took off from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Massachusetts, and did not come back. That was the end of eighteen years of Eagle operations by the 104th Fighter Wing. One of the pilots in that final three-ship was Capt. Kyle Eckert, callsign Nuke. On Sunday he stood [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":22538620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22538908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Barnes F-35A: 104th Fighter Wing Ends 18 Years of Eagles | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 104th Fighter Wing formally welcomed the F-35A to Barnes Air National Guard Base on 13 September 2026, closing 18 years of F-15 Eagle operations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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