Boeing opened another F-15E Mission Training Center, this one at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., which the company says will provide introductory, operational, and continuation training for the 4th Fighter Wing’s F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons. This is the second of five F-15E MTCs Boeing will deliver to USAF units. According to a company release, RAF Lakenheath, Britain will receive a Strike Eagle MTC “in the near future” and Seymour Johnson and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, the site for the first center, each will receive a second MTC. Each center offers two high fidelity, dual-cockpit simulators with a 360-degree visual system and a “robust synthetic environment.” The simulators can be linked within the MTC with two medium-fidelity F-15E Manned Combat Stations to provide the capability for four-ship training. Within a few months, Boeing says the MTC at Seymour will be ready to join the Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations training network, enabling the 4th FW aircrews to train with other forces around the world.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.