{"id":32910175,"date":"2026-11-15T14:31:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T13:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kadena-f-15ex-first-permanently-assigned-eagle-ii-japan-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-15T14:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T13:32:19","slug":"kadena-f-15ex-first-permanently-assigned-eagle-ii-japan-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kadena-f-15ex-first-permanently-assigned-eagle-ii-japan-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Kadena F-15EX: First Permanently Assigned Eagle IIs Land in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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That last word is the whole story. Eagle IIs had visited Kadena before. This one came to live there.<\/p>\r\n<p>Two jets of the 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, arrived on 15 November 2026 as the first permanently assigned F-15EXs at any overseas US Air Force installation. Kadena is also only the second Air Force location anywhere to field the type, after the Oregon Air National Guard&rsquo;s 142nd Wing at Portland.<\/p>\r\n<p>It has been a four-year wait, filled in the meantime by a rotating cast of other people&rsquo;s fighters. Okinawa now has its own again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f6f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:26px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>What happened:<\/strong> The first permanently assigned USAF F-15EX Eagle IIs arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>When:<\/strong> 15 November 2026<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Unit:<\/strong> 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Significance:<\/strong> First overseas USAF base to receive combat-coded F-15EX; second USAF location overall<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>The plan:<\/strong> 36 F-15EX to replace 48 F-15C\/D, announced by the Department of Defense on 3 July 2024<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Squadrons:<\/strong> Both the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons will operate the Eagle II at Kadena<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Next milestone:<\/strong> The 18th Wing&rsquo;s centennial in 2027<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Very Long Way to a New Home<\/h2>\r\n<p>The two fighters had been at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, since late August, finishing their preparations alongside the only other American unit that flies the type. They left as FEUD 41 and FEUD 42, trailed by a pair of <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-135-stratotanker\/\">KC-135 Stratotankers<\/a> using the callsigns PETRO 01 and PETRO 02, and staged through Honolulu before the final leg across the Pacific.<\/p>\r\n<p>None of that is in the Air Force&rsquo;s own announcement. It comes from the flight-tracking account that followed the movement, filed under the air traffic reservation name Coronet West 421 &mdash; the sort of unglamorous logistics detail that tells you a transpacific fighter delivery is less a ceremony than a fuel problem solved four times in a row.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2121709565133656397&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Kadena is the first overseas Air Force installation to receive combat-coded F-15EX aircraft. &ldquo;Combat-coded&rdquo; is the phrase doing the heavy lifting: these are not test or training airframes on loan, but jets counted against an operational mission, assigned to a squadron, based forward.<\/p>\r\n<p>The 18th Wing describes it as a major milestone in its fighter modernization. The wing commander put it in blunter strategic terms.<\/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;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The arrival of the F-15EX at Kadena marks a significant milestone for American airpower in the Pacific. These aircraft strengthen our ability to deter aggression, respond to emerging threats, and defend Japan alongside our allies and partners.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Brig. Gen. John Gallemore<\/strong> &mdash; 18th Wing commander, in the wing&rsquo;s announcement of the arrival, 14 November 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\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\/11\/kadena-f-15ex-pair-approach-landing.jpg\" alt=\"Two F-15EX Eagle IIs of the 67th Fighter Squadron on approach to Kadena Air Base, Japan\" 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\">Both Eagle IIs on approach to Kadena on 15 November 2026, gear down, external tanks fitted after a transpacific delivery flight. U.S. Air Force photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Four Years Without a Home Team<\/h2>\r\n<p>Kadena&rsquo;s own <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-15-eagle\/\">F-15C\/D Eagles<\/a> began a phased withdrawal in November 2022, after more than four decades flying the air superiority mission from Okinawa. What followed was unusual: the busiest fighter base in the Pacific had no permanently assigned fighters at all.<\/p>\r\n<p>The gap was filled by rotational deployments of fourth- and fifth-generation types, a continuous presence assembled from squadrons that arrived, flew, and went home again. It worked. It also meant that for four years, the people who actually live and work at Kadena were hosting somebody else&rsquo;s jets.<\/p>\r\n<p>The replacement plan was announced by the Department of Defense on 3 July 2024, as part of a tactical aircraft modernization package for Japan the Pentagon valued at over $10 billion. Kadena gets 36 F-15EX in place of 48 F-15C\/D. Misawa goes from 36 F-16s to 48 F-35As. The Kadena arithmetic is worth sitting with: twelve fewer airframes, and the Air Force is confident enough in what each one carries to call that an upgrade.<\/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\/11\/kadena-f-15ex-taxi-flight-line.jpg\" alt=\"F-15EX Eagle II taxiing on the flight line at Kadena Air Base, Japan\" 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\">The first permanently assigned Eagle II taxis in at Kadena, 15 November 2026. The ZZ tail code and the 67th Fighter Squadron markings are back on the ramp for good. U.S. Air Force photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Getting to this morning took years of work done somewhere else. Pilots of the 67th Fighter Squadron travelled to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and to Portland to stay current and qualify on the aircraft. Maintainers from the 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron worked with Boeing and Air Force teams at both bases, and kept their hands in by supporting F-15E operations at Seymour Johnson and Mountain Home.<\/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;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Getting the F-15EX to Kadena is just the beginning. Now our focus shifts to integrating the aircraft into our flying operations, building experience as a squadron, and learning how to get the most out of its capabilities.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Col. Ajay Dua<\/strong> &mdash; 67th Fighter Squadron commander, in the 18th Wing announcement<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What Arrives With the Aircraft<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Air Force lists the headline gains as advanced avionics, modernized electronic warfare systems and increased weapons-carrying capacity. In the Pacific those three things point in the same direction: an aircraft that can hold a lot of missiles, see a long way, and survive being seen.<\/p>\r\n<p>Both of the 18th Wing&rsquo;s fighter squadrons, the 44th and the 67th, will fly the Eagle II. Two jets today is not a fleet, and nobody at Kadena is pretending otherwise. But the deliveries now have somewhere to go.<\/p>\r\n<p>There is a nice piece of timing in it, too. The 18th Wing turns one hundred in 2027, a century after it was activated as the 18th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, on 21 January 1927. The wing will mark that anniversary with the newest Eagles the Air Force has.<\/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\/4Ln0KqeCHBY\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:-10px;font-style:italic\">Footage of the arrival at Kadena.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: 18th Wing Public Affairs; U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Department of Defense; U.S. Air Force imagery.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\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 first F-15EX arrive permanently at Kadena Air Base?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The first permanently assigned U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighters arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, on 15 November 2026. Two aircraft assigned to the 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, flew the final leg from Honolulu after staging through Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why is the Kadena F-15EX arrival significant?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Kadena is the first overseas U.S. Air Force installation to receive combat-coded F-15EX aircraft, and only the second Air Force location anywhere to field the type. It also ends a four-year period in which the Pacific\u2019s busiest fighter base had no permanently assigned fighter aircraft of its own.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many F-15EX will Kadena Air Base receive?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Department of Defense announced on 3 July 2024 that Kadena would receive 36 F-15EX aircraft to replace 48 F-15C\/D Eagles. The same plan takes Misawa Air Base from 36 F-16s to 48 F-35As, as part of a package the Pentagon valued at more than $10 billion.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to Kadena\u2019s F-15C\/D Eagles?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Kadena\u2019s F-15C\/D fleet began a phased withdrawal in November 2022 after more than four decades of service at the base. During the transition, rotational deployments of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters maintained a continuous fighter presence on Okinawa.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which squadrons at Kadena will fly the F-15EX?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Both of the 18th Wing\u2019s fighter squadrons, the 44th and the 67th, will operate the F-15EX at Kadena. The first two aircraft are assigned to the 67th Fighter Squadron, whose pilots qualified on the type at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where else does the U.S. Air Force operate the F-15EX Eagle II?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Before Kadena, the only Air Force unit flying the F-15EX was the Oregon Air National Guard\u2019s 142nd Wing at Portland Air National Guard Base. Kadena is the second location to field the aircraft and the first outside the United States.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did the first F-15EX arrive permanently at Kadena Air Base?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The first permanently assigned U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighters arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, on 15 November 2026. 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Kadena is the second location to field the aircraft and the first outside the United States.\"}}]}<\/script><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\/kadena-first-f-15ex-eagle-ii-breaks-cover-2026\/\">Kadena\u2019s First New Eagle Shows Its Colors<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-15ex-eagle-ii-first-visit-kadena-air-base-okinawa-2026\/\">F-15EX Eagle II Touches Down at Kadena for the First Time<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-15ex-conformal-fuel-tanks-142nd-wing-eagle-ii-2026\/\">F-15EX Conformal Fuel Tanks: Oregon\u2019s Eagle IIs Finally Bulk Up<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-15ex-eagle-ii-267-jets-pentagon-report-risks-2026\/\">F-15EX Eagle II: The Pentagon\u2019s Warning on Doubling the Buy<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/keen-sword-27-us-army-soldiers-refuel-f-22-raptors-japan\/\">Keen Sword 27: US Army Soldiers Refuel F-22 Raptors in Japan<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story At ten past ten on a damp Sunday morning in Okinawa, an F-15EX Eagle II put its main wheels on Kadena&rsquo;s runway and stayed. That last word is the whole story. Eagle IIs had visited Kadena before. This one came to live there. Two jets of the 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":32909835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32910175","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 v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kadena F-15EX: First Permanent Eagle IIs Arrive | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first permanently assigned Kadena F-15EX Eagle IIs landed on 15 November 2026, ending four years without home-based fighters on Okinawa.\" \/>\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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