The final six F-15E Strike Eagles of the 494th Fighter Squadron have returned to RAF Lakenheath. They all wear nose arts and AIM-9X kill markings.
On May 10, 2024, flying as TABOR 81, the second flight of six F-15E Strike Eagles returned to their home base at RAF Lakenheath after nearly seven months of deployment in Jordan.
The aircraft, belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron “Mighty Black Panthers” of the 48th Fighter Wing, arrived in the UK from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, via a stopover in Aviano AB, Italy.
As for the first six Strike Eagles which had returned home on May 8, the final six F-15Es sport some nice nose arts along with bomb markings and
What’s certain is that the 494th FS fired plenty of AIM-9X, as the photos, taken yesterday at RAF Lakenheath by our contributor Stewart Jack show. Indeed, many of the F-15Es, have been adorned with nose art (a tradition for deployed aircraft), bomb markings along with red-colored AIM-9X Sidewinder markings. As explained, each AIM-9 silhouette represents at least one missile fired in combat.
In fact, together with Israeli and other U.S. and allied aircraft, the F-15E Strike Eagles played a crucial role in defending Israel during the attack on the night of April 13-14, 2024. This attack, orchestrated by Iran alongside the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen and Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq, involved the launch of 170 one-way “kamikaze” drones, 120 Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles, and 30 Land-Attack Cruise Missiles directed towards Israel.
During that intense night, the F-15E s from the 494th Fighter Squadron and the 335th Fighter Squadron, deployed from Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina achieved a notable success by neutralizing 70 Iranian drones.
President Biden commended the aircrews of the Strike Eagles, recognizing their exceptional airmanship and skill in safeguarding Israel from such an unprecedented aerial assault by Iran. Their dedication and bravery exemplify the commitment of U.S. servicemembers to defending allies and ensuring regional security, he said.
Here’s the complete list of nose arts:
LN AF 91-313 F15E – Mullet
LN AF 91-0334 F15E – Red Tail Angel
LN AF 01-2002 F15E – Warlord
LN AF 96-0202 F15E – Panther Club
LN AF 91-0335 F15E – The Dutchman
LN AF 91-0602 F15E – Phoenix
The photos below, taken by our contributor Stewart Jack provide also a close look at the AIM-9X kill markings:
Interestingly, the F-15E 91-313 “Mullet” had the text “Business in the front and Party in the back” written in red color on the left tail.
Love that speed brake art. Fear the Mullet! pic.twitter.com/O2uA2onX3w
— Strix Photos (@StrixPhotos) May 10, 2024
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
