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Update: US prepares exit of F-15C fleet from Okinawa

By Akhil Kadidal |

Members of the USAF's 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit gathered around the last Boeing F-15C Eagle to depart Kadena Air Base, Japan, on 6 December 2024, according to the air force. (USAF/Senior Airman Alexis Redin)

The US Air Force (USAF) is withdrawing its final batch of Boeing F-15C Eagle from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

The USAF published photographs of personnel from the 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit gathered around what was described as the “last [F-15C] Eagle to depart” Kadena Air Base, on 6 December. A USAF 18th Wing spokesperson told Janes on 11 January 2025 that “while the F-15C Eagle featured in the photographs is the last Eagle to depart Kadena Air Base, it is not necessarily the last F-15C/D Eagle at Kadena Air Base”.

The USAF 18th Wing spokesperson added that “due to operational security”, the wing “will not disclose the specific timelines for aircraft movements or the exact number of aircraft”.

The withdrawal of the F-15C/D fleet from Kadena, which was first announced in October 2022, will allow the USAF to deploy more modern assets on the island. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has said the departure of the F-15C is in line with the “large-scale divestment plan to modernise the base's capabilities to better deliver” combat air power at the forward-staging base.

Janes has previously reported that 36 F-15EX Eagle IIs will replace the F-15C/Ds as part of the US DoD's updated force posture plan.

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