335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron on Deployment
As the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron had been deployed to USAF Central Command's area of responsibility for six months now, it is time that they returned to RAF Lakenheath. The Panthers had sent twelve jets downrange in October 2023, replacing A-10 Warthogs that took over from the 389th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which you can read more about here: https://www.olliehillaviationphotography.co.uk/l/raf-mildenhall-and-lakenheath-april-2023/. Squadrons deployed to the Middle East tend to rotate every 6 months. While in Asia, the aircraft integrate with allied nations and, should it be necessary, deal with enemy threats. This constant fast jet presence helps to deter any aggression from 'enemy' nations.
Moving jets between such locations is no easy task, requiring lots of support! The initial suggestion that Seymour Johnson would send jets to the sandpit was when a flurry of cargo aircraft such as USAF C-5s, C-17s, and a civilian-operated 767 flew into Seymour Johnson and then onwards to the sandpit, usually via a pit-stop somewhere in Europe first. Of course, it's not only the kit they need, as the F-15 couldn't make it from the USA to the sandpit in one hop. As such, various USAF tankers would be required to keep the Strike Eagles topped up as they make the trip. Overall, four Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and four Boeing KC-46 Pegasus' were used to drag the twelve jets across.
April 9th should've seen the arrival of all twelve F-15Es, but unsurprisingly, this didn't happen. It then became apparent that only six would cross that day, with the other six crossing the following day. This also didn't happen. The tankers departed from both Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and Portsmouth International Airport. Originally, they had six Strike Eagles with them prepared to make the crossing. Problems with at least one of the F-15Es caused it (and a wingman) to divert into Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador. That evening, TABOR31-34 arrived with tankers GOLD81,83.
The serials for those arrivals are as follows:
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 16-46013 GOLD81
USAF Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 58-0103 GOLD83
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0487 TABOR31
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0502 TABOR32
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0495 TABOR33
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0503 TABOR34
The following day should've theoretically seen the arrival of the remaining eight Strike Eagles, or at least the next set of six. Similar to April 9th, neither number of jets crossed. We had heard that TABOR41-46 departed Seymour Johnson, linking up with MacDill-based KC-135 60-0360, before meeting a pair of KC-46s that they would cross with. The KC-135 would also cross, although I understand it didn't tow any fighters across the Atlantic. Roughly seven hours after they departed, all 3 tankers started pinging on tracking apps this side of the pond. And, just shy of 18:20, TABOR81-85 arrived into Lakenheath, and the tankers arrived into Mildenhall.
The serials for those arrivals are as follows:
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 17-46024 GOLD91
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 20-46076 GOLD92
USAF Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 60-0360 GOLD93
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0178 TABOR41
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0192 TABOR42
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0193 TABOR43
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1684 TABOR44
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1708 TABOR45
April 11th saw more flight plans for tankers from the US to Mildenhall dragging the remaining three jets. A single KC-135 departed on a planned round trip from Portsmouth to Portsmouth to meet the fighters, while a KC-46 also departing Portsmouth would drag the jets across. The final 3 arrived just after 18:50.
The serials for those arrivals are as follows:
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 20-46074 GOLD92
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0181 TABOR43
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1695 TABOR44
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1703 TABOR45
With all twelve this side of the Atlantic, all they had to do now was get them all down to their area of operations!
Surprisingly, the following day, all twelve were planned to depart southbound with tanker support, and more surprisingly, it all went to plan! By 14:00, all TABORs along with six tankers had departed Suffolk.
In the recent Iranian strikes on Israel, the USAF and RAF stepped in to help Israel fend off the Iranian drones. A later released video by the President of the United States shows that both the 335th & 494th Fighter Squadrons were involved in shooting down the Iranian drones. You can see that video here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5wo3DuMMoa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0178 TABOR41
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0192 TABOR42
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 87-0193 TABOR43
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1684 TABOR44
USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 88-1708 TABOR45
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 16-46013 (GOLD81)
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 17-46024 GOLD91
USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 20-46076 GOLD92
USAF Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 58-0103 (GOLD83) RCH068