18th Wing starts legacy Eagle withdrawal
In 1 December 2022, Kadena (Japan) based 18th Wing Shogun started with the first departures of the legacy F-15C/D Eagles as part of their phased withdrawal.
The fighters will first go to Klamath Falls/Kingsley Field ANG Base (OR) and from there some will be distributed amongst various Air National Guard units in the Continental US (CONUS), whilst others will be transferred to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, also known as the "Boneyard", situated near Tucson (AZ).
The USAF is retiring the ageing fleet of F-15C/D Eagles that have been in service for more than four decades. The US Department of Defense (US DoD) will continue to maintain a steady-state fighter aircraft presence at Kadena air base by temporarily deploying newer and more advanced aircraft.
The first aircraft to backfill the leaving F-15s arrived on 4 November, when four 525th Fighter Squadron Bulldogs F-22A Raptors arrived.
The 18th Wing, originally known as the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing (18th TFW), received its first F-15C on 29 September 1979. The 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron The Fighting Cocks was the first squadron to become fully operational with the Eagle within the Pacific Air Forces.
Source and photo by USAF/18th Wing (Senior Airman Jessi Roth)