The fighter is the 22nd Eagle II produced for the US Air Force and will be stationed at Kadena Air Base.
Boeing has delivered the 22nd F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet, which will ultimately be the first example of the type to be stationed at a strategic US air base in Japan.
F-15EX tail number 22-0022, informally dubbed EX-22, flew from Boeing’s fighter delivery centre at St Louis Lambert International airport on 28 August. The twin-engined jet was ferried to Portland, Oregon, on the US Pacific coast, where the US Air Force says it will “receive additional updates and preparations for its future stationing at Kadena” [Air Base] on Okinawa.
The air force confirmed the milestone on 3 September.
“This is an important next step toward bringing the F-15EX home to Kadena,” says Brigadier General John Gallemore, commander of the USAF’s 18th Wing, which is permanently stationed on Okinawa.
The F-15EX represents the latest iteration of the combat-proven Eagle fighter. It incorporates new fly-by-wire flight controls, an advanced electronic countermeasures survivability system, modern avionics and sensors, and offers an improved weapons payload and better flight performance compared with legacy F-15 models.
“This event underscores the strategic value of the platform and the dedication of the teams behind it,” Dan Gillian, general manager of Boeing’s air dominance unit, says of the EX-22 delivery.
The Oregon Air National Guard is the lead unit within the USAF for the F-15EX fielding, with plans to provide 18 Eagle IIs to the Portland-based 123rd Fighter Squadron to replace the unit’s legacy F-15C/Ds.
The squadron received its first combat-configured F-15EX in 2024. Fleets data from aviation analytics provider Cirium lists 20 F-15EXs as having been delivered, including five test-configured aircraft, but not counting EX-22.
The USAF says Eagle IIs will start arriving at Kadena in fiscal year 2027, which begins on 1 October 2026.
“Our team is ready to welcome the F-15EX,” Gallemore says.
Although that will mark the start of the type’s permanent presence in Japan, it will not be the first appearance in that country.
An F-15EX from the USAF’s 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron completed a short-term deployment to Japan in June as part of preparations for the type’s permanent arrival at Kadena.
The base on Okinawa will be the second frontline USAF site to receive a contingent of F-15EXs. The sprawling and strategically important facility is home to nearly 20,000 American military personnel, according to the air force.
That roster includes a refuelling squadron of Boeing KC-135 tankers. As many as 54 F-15C/Ds were assigned to Kadena in recent years, although those jets have all been retired and the squadrons deactivated.
The final F-15C flight from Kadena was logged in 2025 as part of a retirement ceremony for the Cold War-era Eagle fighter.
The USAF has since deployed squadrons of Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters to the base on a rotational basis to backfill the legacy Eagles, while Kadena awaits the arrival of the F-15EX.
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