Numerous Airmen from across the Air Force took part in the NEWEN training exercise April 8-10 with members of the Chilean Air Force in the skies over Santiago and along the beaches of Quintero, Chile. The event came on the heels of USAF’s participation in the FIDAE 2008 airshow in Santiago. NEWEN included dissimilar air combat maneuvers between USAF F-15Es and F-16s and Chilean F-16s as well as air-to-air refueling missions of these aircraft with USAF KC-10 and KC-135 tankers. The two air forces also practiced pararescue operations in the classroom and at a small landing zone near Quintero during a simulated mass-casualty event. One of the goals of NEWEN was to better prepare the Chileans to participate in coalition operations worldwide. (Twelfth Air Force report by Capt Nathan D. Broshear)
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.