U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Jet Drops First Live Bomb as New Strike Role Expands
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The operational U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet has conducted its first live bomb drops, with the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing flying the missions from Nellis Air Force Base in support of the Weapons Instructor Course. Army Recognition identified the bomb employed as a BLU-111 general-purpose bomb, underscoring the Eagle II’s transition from a primarily air-superiority platform toward a broader strike role.
The live employment of the BLU-111 demonstrates that frontline F-15EX units are beginning to integrate conventional air-to-ground attack missions with the aircraft’s high speed, long range, and heavy payload capacity. This expands the Eagle II’s operational value in contested campaigns where the same force may be required to provide air superiority, precision strike, and sustained firepower.
Related Topic: U.S. Air Force Expands F-15EX Eagle II Fleet to 149 Fighter Jets With Production Through 2031
F-15EX Eagle II of the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing during operations from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Inset: U.S. Air Force personnel load a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) live bomb onto the fighter ahead of the unit’s first operational live-bomb release with the F-15EX. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)
The milestone occurred on August 27, 2026, during a three-week deployment spanning late August and early September. U.S. Air National Guard imagery shows an F-15EX carrying and releasing a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) general-purpose bomb that Army Recognition identifies as a BLU-111, while the broader significance of the event lies in the aircraft’s growing ability to combine heavy weapons carriage, precision targeting, and multirole mission flexibility.
The BLU-111 is a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) general-purpose bomb designed to produce blast and fragmentation effects against lightly protected targets, equipment concentrations and infrastructure. Its bomb body can also be integrated into guided weapon configurations, meaning live employment of this ordnance helps crews and maintainers build the procedures required for more advanced precision-strike missions.
This progression matters because the 142nd Wing had already begun developing its air-to-ground role earlier in 2026. In May, Oregon Air National Guard crews deployed to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, where they released inert BDU-50 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) and BDU-56 907 kg-class (2,000 lb-class) practice bombs. Moving from inert training weapons to live ordnance shows that the unit is progressing from basic release procedures toward a complete operational strike capability involving pilots, weapons loaders, munitions specialists, maintainers and mission planners.
The F-15EX Eagle II is the latest U.S. Air Force version of the F-15 family and is designed to combine the Eagle’s speed, range and large weapons load with modern avionics, electronic warfare systems and open-architecture mission software. Unlike the older F-15C, which was primarily optimized for air-superiority missions, the F-15EX is intended to perform air-to-air combat, precision strike, long-range weapons carriage and other multirole missions within the same aircraft fleet.
One of the F-15EX’s most important advantages is its weapons capacity. The aircraft can carry approximately 13,400 kg (29,500 lb) of external payload, giving it substantially greater weapons volume than lower-observable fighters designed around internal weapons bays. This allows the Eagle II to carry large combinations of air-to-air missiles, precision-guided bombs and future long-range standoff weapons, making it particularly useful for missions where the U.S. Air Force needs to generate large numbers of weapons against multiple targets.
That payload capacity is central to the F-15EX concept of operations. In a high-intensity conflict, the aircraft does not need to replicate the low-observable characteristics of the F-35A or F-22 to contribute meaningfully. Instead, it can operate from less exposed positions while carrying more weapons, allowing stealth aircraft to penetrate contested airspace, detect and classify targets, and pass targeting data to heavily armed F-15EX formations.
This creates a complementary relationship between stealth and weapons capacity. The F-35A is designed to survive in dense air-defense environments and provide advanced sensing, targeting, and data-sharing, while the F-15EX can deliver a much larger volume of ordnance once targets are identified. In practical terms, this allows the U.S. Air Force to combine survivability at the front of the force with greater missile and bomb capacity behind it.
Images from the Nellis deployment also show the F-15EX operating with the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper targeting pod, which strengthens the aircraft’s precision-strike role. The pod provides electro-optical and infrared imagery, target identification, tracking, and laser designation, enabling crews to locate and engage ground targets more accurately and supporting the use of precision-guided weapons in complex combat conditions.
The integration of the Sniper pod is particularly relevant because it demonstrates that the F-15EX is not simply adding an unguided bombing capability. Combined with modern mission computers, digital flight controls, and advanced sensors, the targeting pod lets the aircraft support precision attack missions coordinated with other fighters, airborne sensors, and command-and-control systems.
The Eagle II also incorporates the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, which provides improved electronic protection and threat awareness compared with earlier F-15 variants. This matters for strike missions because a heavily armed aircraft carrying large numbers of weapons must detect, classify, and respond to radar and missile threats while staying connected to the wider force.
The aircraft’s two-seat cockpit further supports more complex strike missions. A second crew member can help manage sensors, targeting pods, electronic warfare systems, tactical data links and multiple weapon types, reducing workload during long-range missions or operations requiring intensive coordination with other aircraft and unmanned systems.
The choice of Nellis Air Force Base adds further operational significance to the milestone. The Weapons Instructor Course is one of the U.S. Air Force’s principal environments for advanced tactical training, where crews develop mission concepts involving multiple aircraft types, sensors, weapons, and command-and-control systems. Conducting live-bomb employment during this deployment helps integrate the F-15EX into a broader combat framework rather than treating the strike role as an isolated test activity.
For the 142nd Wing, the event marks a clear break from the mission profile of its previous F-15C Eagles. The unit is shifting from a predominantly air-defense and air-superiority role to a broader combat mission that includes precision strike, long-range weapons employment, and mixed air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.
For the U.S. Air Force, this matters because the F-15EX can add weapons mass without replacing stealth aircraft. In a future conflict, especially one requiring sustained operations over long distances, the service will need both survivable aircraft that can penetrate defended airspace and high-capacity fighters that can carry large numbers of weapons. The F-15EX is increasingly positioned to fill the second role.
Its 13,400 kg (29,500 lb) payload also leaves room to absorb future weapons growth. As the U.S. Air Force introduces larger and longer-range standoff missiles, the F-15EX could become an important carrier for weapons that are too large, too numerous or operationally inefficient for smaller fighters. This would allow the aircraft to contribute to strike missions against air defenses, command centers, logistics nodes and other high-value targets from outside the most dangerous engagement zones.
The first live-bomb drop by an operational F-15EX unit therefore represents much more than a training milestone. It shows that the Eagle II is beginning to turn its large payload, modern sensors, and advanced mission systems into a practical multirole strike capability, giving the U.S. Air Force a heavily armed complement to its stealth fighter fleet and increasing the combat power deliverable in a single sortie.
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• Land Defense News• Naval Defense News• Defense Aerospace NewsWritten by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition GroupAlain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
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The operational U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet has conducted its first live bomb drops, with the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing flying the missions from Nellis Air Force Base in support of the Weapons Instructor Course. Army Recognition identified the bomb employed as a BLU-111 general-purpose bomb, underscoring the Eagle II’s transition from a primarily air-superiority platform toward a broader strike role.
The live employment of the BLU-111 demonstrates that frontline F-15EX units are beginning to integrate conventional air-to-ground attack missions with the aircraft’s high speed, long range, and heavy payload capacity. This expands the Eagle II’s operational value in contested campaigns where the same force may be required to provide air superiority, precision strike, and sustained firepower.
Related Topic: U.S. Air Force Expands F-15EX Eagle II Fleet to 149 Fighter Jets With Production Through 2031
F-15EX Eagle II of the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing during operations from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Inset: U.S. Air Force personnel load a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) live bomb onto the fighter ahead of the unit’s first operational live-bomb release with the F-15EX. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)
The milestone occurred on August 27, 2026, during a three-week deployment spanning late August and early September. U.S. Air National Guard imagery shows an F-15EX carrying and releasing a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) general-purpose bomb that Army Recognition identifies as a BLU-111, while the broader significance of the event lies in the aircraft’s growing ability to combine heavy weapons carriage, precision targeting, and multirole mission flexibility.
The BLU-111 is a 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) general-purpose bomb designed to produce blast and fragmentation effects against lightly protected targets, equipment concentrations and infrastructure. Its bomb body can also be integrated into guided weapon configurations, meaning live employment of this ordnance helps crews and maintainers build the procedures required for more advanced precision-strike missions.
This progression matters because the 142nd Wing had already begun developing its air-to-ground role earlier in 2026. In May, Oregon Air National Guard crews deployed to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, where they released inert BDU-50 227 kg-class (500 lb-class) and BDU-56 907 kg-class (2,000 lb-class) practice bombs. Moving from inert training weapons to live ordnance shows that the unit is progressing from basic release procedures toward a complete operational strike capability involving pilots, weapons loaders, munitions specialists, maintainers and mission planners.
The F-15EX Eagle II is the latest U.S. Air Force version of the F-15 family and is designed to combine the Eagle’s speed, range and large weapons load with modern avionics, electronic warfare systems and open-architecture mission software. Unlike the older F-15C, which was primarily optimized for air-superiority missions, the F-15EX is intended to perform air-to-air combat, precision strike, long-range weapons carriage and other multirole missions within the same aircraft fleet.
One of the F-15EX’s most important advantages is its weapons capacity. The aircraft can carry approximately 13,400 kg (29,500 lb) of external payload, giving it substantially greater weapons volume than lower-observable fighters designed around internal weapons bays. This allows the Eagle II to carry large combinations of air-to-air missiles, precision-guided bombs and future long-range standoff weapons, making it particularly useful for missions where the U.S. Air Force needs to generate large numbers of weapons against multiple targets.
That payload capacity is central to the F-15EX concept of operations. In a high-intensity conflict, the aircraft does not need to replicate the low-observable characteristics of the F-35A or F-22 to contribute meaningfully. Instead, it can operate from less exposed positions while carrying more weapons, allowing stealth aircraft to penetrate contested airspace, detect and classify targets, and pass targeting data to heavily armed F-15EX formations.
This creates a complementary relationship between stealth and weapons capacity. The F-35A is designed to survive in dense air-defense environments and provide advanced sensing, targeting, and data-sharing, while the F-15EX can deliver a much larger volume of ordnance once targets are identified. In practical terms, this allows the U.S. Air Force to combine survivability at the front of the force with greater missile and bomb capacity behind it.
Images from the Nellis deployment also show the F-15EX operating with the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper targeting pod, which strengthens the aircraft’s precision-strike role. The pod provides electro-optical and infrared imagery, target identification, tracking, and laser designation, enabling crews to locate and engage ground targets more accurately and supporting the use of precision-guided weapons in complex combat conditions.
The integration of the Sniper pod is particularly relevant because it demonstrates that the F-15EX is not simply adding an unguided bombing capability. Combined with modern mission computers, digital flight controls, and advanced sensors, the targeting pod lets the aircraft support precision attack missions coordinated with other fighters, airborne sensors, and command-and-control systems.
The Eagle II also incorporates the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, which provides improved electronic protection and threat awareness compared with earlier F-15 variants. This matters for strike missions because a heavily armed aircraft carrying large numbers of weapons must detect, classify, and respond to radar and missile threats while staying connected to the wider force.
The aircraft’s two-seat cockpit further supports more complex strike missions. A second crew member can help manage sensors, targeting pods, electronic warfare systems, tactical data links and multiple weapon types, reducing workload during long-range missions or operations requiring intensive coordination with other aircraft and unmanned systems.
The choice of Nellis Air Force Base adds further operational significance to the milestone. The Weapons Instructor Course is one of the U.S. Air Force’s principal environments for advanced tactical training, where crews develop mission concepts involving multiple aircraft types, sensors, weapons, and command-and-control systems. Conducting live-bomb employment during this deployment helps integrate the F-15EX into a broader combat framework rather than treating the strike role as an isolated test activity.
For the 142nd Wing, the event marks a clear break from the mission profile of its previous F-15C Eagles. The unit is shifting from a predominantly air-defense and air-superiority role to a broader combat mission that includes precision strike, long-range weapons employment, and mixed air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.
For the U.S. Air Force, this matters because the F-15EX can add weapons mass without replacing stealth aircraft. In a future conflict, especially one requiring sustained operations over long distances, the service will need both survivable aircraft that can penetrate defended airspace and high-capacity fighters that can carry large numbers of weapons. The F-15EX is increasingly positioned to fill the second role.
Its 13,400 kg (29,500 lb) payload also leaves room to absorb future weapons growth. As the U.S. Air Force introduces larger and longer-range standoff missiles, the F-15EX could become an important carrier for weapons that are too large, too numerous or operationally inefficient for smaller fighters. This would allow the aircraft to contribute to strike missions against air defenses, command centers, logistics nodes and other high-value targets from outside the most dangerous engagement zones.
The first live-bomb drop by an operational F-15EX unit therefore represents much more than a training milestone. It shows that the Eagle II is beginning to turn its large payload, modern sensors, and advanced mission systems into a practical multirole strike capability, giving the U.S. Air Force a heavily armed complement to its stealth fighter fleet and increasing the combat power deliverable in a single sortie.
Explore More Defense News
• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News
Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
