From maintainers recovering and relaunching jets to pilots prepping and flying sorties, airmen at Kadena AB, Japan, last week trained in surge operations with their F-15s to improve their combat readiness and proficiency, according to a release. The number of training flights with the F-15s of the 67th Fighter Squadron increased each day during the drill. The pilots focused on basic fighter maneuvers. As one of the Air Force’s forward-based air superiority squadrons, the 67th FS frequently trains with Japanese fighter units at various US and Japanese airfields in the region.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…