Elsewhere in the Pacific region, the early morning flights—takeoffs and unusually quick returns—by USAF F-15s flying routine training from Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa, caused an outcry from island residents, reports Stars and Stripes. Bad weather and some maintenance problems twice sent fighters back to the base shortly after their sunrise takeoffs. Just this past May, Japanese officials had asked the air base to cut back on F-15 noise.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.