USAF confirms first F-15EX deployment to Kadena in 2026

The first USAF F-15EX Eagle II (EX-22) designated for Kadena Air Base, Japan, taxis at Boeing's St Louis facility on 28 August 2026 before departing for Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. (USAF/Senior Airman Melany Bermudez)

The US Air Force (USAF) will deploy its first Boeing F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, by the end of 2026, an air force spokesperson told Janes.

A first batch of F-15EXs was initially due to arrive at Kadena in the first half of 2026, but production bottlenecks delayed delivery of the initial aircraft. The revised deployment timeline follows Boeing's delivery of the first Kadena-bound F-15EX, known as EX-22, to the USAF in September 2026.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) plans to deploy a total of 36 Eagle IIs to Kadena in line with a force posture plan announced in 2024 to replace older fourth-generation US aircraft based in Japan.

The two-seat F-15EX, based on the F-15QA variant, has a greater payload, newer avionics, and improved mission systems compared with legacy F-15 fighters, according to Boeing.

To Portland

Although EX-22 has been delivered to the USAF, having departed Boeing's production facility in St Louis, Missouri, on 28 August, the aircraft has not yet transited to Kadena.

According to the USAF, it was delivered to Portland Air National Guard (ANG) Base in Oregon to “undergo additional preparations before its eventual movement to Kadena Air Base”.

The USAF did not specify what additional preparations EX-22 requires. A Boeing spokesperson told Janes that the company had “completed all of the production, systems installation and integration work required on F-15EX-22” before its delivery to the USAF.