The crews of the two-ship F-15E formation that stared down the leading edge of Iran’s massive aerial assault against Israel in April 2024 were presented with the Mackay Trophy last week, further cementing their place in Air Force history.
494th Fighter Squadron
RAF Lakenheath, U.K. On the night of April 13, 2024, U.S. Air Force crews took to the skies in the Middle East, having received word that Iran had launched one-way attack drones and missiles at Israel. In one F-15E in...
Iranian Threats in the Middle East By Chris Gordon When Lt. Col. Dustin Johnson was ordered to deploy to the Middle East last year, he and his fellow F-22 Raptor pilots prepared for an unusual challenge. As America’s premier air...
F-15E Strike Eagles with new electronic warfare suites landed at RAF Lakenheath last week, the first in the fleet to receive the upgrades.
In the third and final part of our series about how the U.S. Air Force helped defeat Iran’s April 13 attack on Israel, Airmen describe the final drone shootdowns of the night and the lessons they have drawn from one of the Air Force’s biggest ...
In Part 2 of our series about how Airmen helped defeat Iran’s April 13 attack on Israel, troops from the 494th Fighter Squadron describe how they kept launching jets even as their own base came under fire.
In a series of exclusive interviews with Air & Space Forces Magazine, Airmen from the 494th Fighter Squadron described how they helped defeat the massive drone and missile attack launched by Iran against Israel in April—actions that led to many being decorated Nov. 12.
WORLD: Operations: Fighters stop drones headed for Israel.
A few weeks after downing swarms of drones to defend Israel from Iran, the 494th Fighter Squadron is back home at RAF Lakenheath, U.K.—and sporting some intriguing new paint. Publicly released photos from the Air Force show the F-15E Strike Eagles returning to their home ...
U.S. aircraft are increasing the pace of airstrikes targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan after nearly all American troops have left the country, as the level of violence continues to rise. More than 95 percent of the U.S. withdrawal process is complete—a number that has stayed ...
F-15s from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, have deployed to Iceland to take up the NATO Air Policing mission there for the second time in less than a year. The three F-15C/Ds, plus an F-15E from the 493rd’s sister unit, the 494th ...
The Air Force Weapons School has recognized Capt. Woodruff “Thunder” Johnson, an F-15E Weapons Officer assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., with its 2020 Robbie Risner Award. The annual award—whose namesake, Brig. Gen. James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, was the first living ...
