Air National Guardsmen of the 199th Fighter Squadron at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, got the chance to fly their F-15s against reserve brethren flying F-16s from Air Force Reserve Command’s 93rd Fighter Squadron at Homestead ARB, Fla., in a dissimilar aircraft combat tactics exercise called Cactus Aloha. Just getting to Hawaii from Florida provided a logistical challenge.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.