First permanent F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet for US Kadena Air Base departs Boeing facility for Japan.

The first U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet designated for permanent stationing at Kadena Air Base, Japan, departed Boeing’s St. Louis facility on August 28, 2026, traveling to Portland Air Guard Base for staging before its Pacific transit. This movement marks the transition from rotational fighter deployments in Okinawa back to a permanently assigned combat force aimed at reinforcing regional air defense along the first island chain. Replacing retired F-15C/D models, the deployment will establish two active-duty Eagle II squadrons in Japan under fiscal year 2027 fleet modernization plans.

The U.S. Air Force plans to permanently station 36 F-15EX Eagle II fighters at Kadena Air Base to recapitalize the 48 legacy F-15C/D airframes withdrawn starting in November 2022. Equipped with AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radars, EPAWSS electronic warfare suites, and a 29,500-pound payload capacity across 12 air-to-air missile stations, the aircraft provides high-capacity payload support alongside fifth-generation stealth fighters.

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Boeing has delivered the first F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet destined for permanent deployment at Kadena Air Base in Japan, paving the way for full operational stationing starting in fiscal year 2027. (Picture source: US Air Force)

The first U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II designated for Kadena Air Base departed Boeing’s St. Louis facility on August 28, 2026, marking the start of the delivery process for Okinawa’s future permanent Eagle II force. Aircraft 22-0022, carrying Kadena’s "ZZ" tail code, flew to Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon for additional preparations before its eventual transfer to Japan. F-15EXs are scheduled to begin arriving at Kadena in fiscal year 2027, replacing the F-15C/D force withdrawn beginning in November 2022. Unlike F-15EXs previously sent to Okinawa for temporary integration and familiarization activities, this aircraft is designated for permanent assignment to Kadena.

Kadena will become the second U.S. Air Force location with combat-coded F-15EXs after the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing at Portland, with two active-duty squadrons planned for Okinawa. The Air Force intends to replace the 48 F-15C/Ds previously assigned there with 36 F-15EXs, ending years of reliance on rotational deployments of F-15Es, F-22s and other fighters to maintain combat presence. The 142nd Wing's experience operating the Eagle II also makes Portland a logical location for final preparations before the aircraft moves to Japan. Once established, the Kadena force will provide permanently assigned aircraft, crews and maintainers able to sustain readiness and sortie generation from Okinawa.

Kadena Air Base occupies a strategically important position on Okinawa between the East China Sea and Pacific Ocean, placing U.S. tactical aviation well forward of bases on Guam or in the continental United States. Okinawa lies roughly 900 miles from Tokyo, Seoul, Manila and Hong Kong and 1,200 miles west of Guam, giving aircraft based there comparatively short access to the East China Sea, the approaches to Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and the wider first island chain. This geography allows fighters at Kadena to respond more rapidly to regional air activity, conduct air defense and escort missions, support operations farther into the Western Pacific and integrate routinely with Japanese forces without first making a long transit from rear-area bases. Kadena also concentrates infrastructure for fighter operations, aerial refueling, airborne command and control, combat search and rescue, maintenance, munitions and transient U.S. aircraft, making it both an operational base and a forward staging hub for forces moving through the region.

The F-15EX provides a substantial capability increase over the F-15C/D. It combines the Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar, BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, digital fly-by-wire controls, Advanced Display Core Processor II mission computer, a 10×19-inch large-area cockpit display and an open systems architecture designed to facilitate future weapons and software integration. The aircraft can also employ the Legion Pod with its AN/ASG-34(V)1 IRST21 infrared sensor for passive detection and tracking. EPAWSS adds radar warning, threat identification, geolocation and electronic countermeasures, improving the Eagle II's situational awareness and survivability in contested electromagnetic environments.

Its weapons capacity is particularly relevant to operations from Okinawa. The F-15EX can carry 29,500 lb of external payload and 12 air-to-air missiles in existing air-superiority configurations, while supporting weapons including AIM-120 AMRAAMs, AIM-9 Sidewinders, AGM-158 JASSMs, AGM-154 JSOWs, GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs and GBU-53/B StormBreakers. The fighter has an 81,000-lb maximum takeoff weight, reaches Mach 2.5 at high altitude and uses two General Electric F110-GE-129 engines producing 29,500 lbf of afterburning thrust each. Its 20,000-hour structural service life and open architecture are also intended to support successive sensor, software and weapons upgrades over decades of service.

These characteristics give the F-15EX a complementary role alongside F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. While less suited to penetrating dense modern air defenses, the Eagle II can operate farther from the highest-threat areas while carrying larger air-to-air and air-to-surface loads, including long-range weapons too large for the internal bays of current U.S. stealth fighters. F-22s, F-35s and other sensors operating closer to contested airspace can provide targeting information while F-15EXs add missile capacity from less exposed positions. That combination is especially relevant across the Western Pacific, where long distances, dispersed forces and potentially constrained sortie generation increase the value of carrying more weapons on each available fighter.

Kadena places that capability near the East China Sea and the first island chain while providing opportunities for closer integration with Japanese forces. The 18th Wing regularly trains with Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15Js from Naha Air Base, providing an existing basis for bilateral air combat training, airspace coordination and air defense missions. At the same time, Kadena's proximity to regional missile threats makes dispersal, alternate operating locations and long-range weapon employment important to sustaining combat operations during a major conflict. The F-15EX cannot eliminate the vulnerability of a fixed base, but its payload, range, speed and networking capabilities can increase the combat power generated by each sortie.

The aircraft's departure is also important because Kadena's transition has been directly affected by F-15EX production delays. The Air Force expanded its planned fleet from 129 to 267 aircraft, extending production from eight to 12 lots, while Boeing faces shortages affecting components including large-area displays, head-up displays, F110 engines and ejection-system cartridges. A strike at the St. Louis facility from August through November 2025 caused delays the Pentagon assessed as unrecoverable, with only six of 12 Lot 3 aircraft expected by the end of 2026 and Lot 4 deliveries pushed from 2026 to 2028. Kadena's F-15EXs had initially been expected from spring 2026, making the departure of its first designated aircraft a concrete sign that the delayed transition from rotational fighter coverage to a permanent Eagle II force has finally entered the delivery phase.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.