Editing McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (section)

===Later service===
[[File:144th FW F-15 Eagle.JPG|thumb|left|A USAF F-15C flying over Fresno, California, 2013]]

The F-15 had a combined air-to-air combat record of 104 kills to no losses {{as of|2008|2|lc=yes|alt=through 2008}}. The F-15's air superiority versions, the A/B/C/D models, have not suffered any losses to enemy action.<ref name=Davies_icover>Davies and Dildy 2007, inside cover.</ref><ref name=Reformers>Correll, John. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090530123243/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2008/February%202008/0208reformers.aspx "The Reformers."]}} ''Air Force Magazine'', February 2008, Vol. 91 Number 2, p. 44.</ref> Over half of F-15 kills have been achieved by Israeli Air Force pilots.

On 16 September 2009, the last F-15A, an [[Oregon Air National Guard]] aircraft, was retired, marking the end of service for the F-15A and F-15B models in the United States.<ref>Hughel, Staff Sgt. John. [http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2009/10/101309-Final.aspx "Final F-15A model retired from Oregon Guard."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924104706/http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2009/10/101309-Final.aspx |date=24 September 2011}} ''ng.mil'', 13 October 2009. Retrieved: 26 August 2011.</ref> With the retirement of those early models, the F-15C and D models continued operational service to supplement the new [[Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22 Raptor]] in frontline US service. Because the DOD was primarily focused on asymmetric [[counterinsurgency]] warfare in the Middle East in the 2000s, the F-22 procurement was curtailed to just 187 operational aircraft and the USAF had to extend F-15C/D operations well beyond its planned retirement date in order to maintain adequate numbers of air superiority fighters; in 2007, the USAF planned to keep 179 F-15C/Ds along with 224 [[McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle|F-15Es]] in service beyond 2025.<ref name=fighter_force>Tirpak, John A. [https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0307force/ "Making the Best of the Fighter Force."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122113839/https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0307force/ |date=22 January 2022}} ''Air Force magazine'', March 2007.</ref> During the 2010s, USAF F-15C/Ds were regularly based overseas with the [[Pacific Air Forces]] at [[Kadena AB]] in Japan<ref>[http://www.kadena.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9581 "18th Operations Group."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181331/http://www.kadena.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9581 |date=3 March 2016}} ''[[Kadena Air Base]]'', 11 September 2007. Retrieved: 2 February 2014.</ref> and with the [[U.S. Air Forces in Europe]] at [[RAF Lakenheath]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>[http://www.lakenheath.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4212 "48th Operations Group."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182909/http://www.lakenheath.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123067590 |date=3 March 2016}} ''[[RAF Lakenheath]] website'', 1 August 2013.</ref> Other regular USAF F-15s are operated by ACC as adversary/aggressor platforms at [[Nellis AFB]], Nevada, and by [[Air Force Materiel Command]] in test and evaluation roles at [[Edwards AFB]], California, and [[Eglin AFB]], Florida. All remaining combat-coded F-15C/Ds are operated by the [[Air National Guard]].

[[File:F-15C Florida (17149377921).jpg|thumb|A USAF F-15C of the 125th Fighter Wing]]
To keep the F-15C/D viable, the fleet saw a series of upgrades, with 179 aircraft receiving the AN/APG-63(V)3 AESA radar starting in 2010 along with eventual addition of IRST pods and cockpit enhancements.<ref name=Upgrade_radar /><ref name=F-15_upgrades_2006 /> However, problems with the aging fleet meant the F-15C faced cuts or retirement in the USAF's FY 2015 budget in response to sequestration.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130915210441/http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130915/DEFREG02/309150004 "USAF weighs scrapping KC-10, A-10 fleets."] ''Defensenews.com''. Retrieved: 15 September 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sequester-may-force-usaf-to-retire-entire-fleets-of-aircraft-390668/ "Sequester may force USAF to retire entire fleets of aircraft."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921042646/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sequester-may-force-usaf-to-retire-entire-fleets-of-aircraft-390668/ |date=21 September 2013}} ''Flightglobal.com''. Retrieved: 17 September 2013.</ref> By the mid-2010s, the aging F-15C/D fleet was no longer economically sustainable to the 2030s as hoped due to structural fatigue,{{refn|The F-15C/D airframes would have an average age of 37 years by 2021; 75% were beyond their certified service lives leading to groundings from structural issues, and life extensions were deemed too expensive.|group=N}} and the USAF chose to forgo the more comprehensive F-15 2040C upgrade proposed by Boeing; in April 2017, USAF officials announced plans to retire the F-15C/D in the mid-2020s and press other aircraft such as F-16s into roles occupied by the F-15 while exploring options to recapitalize its fighter fleet.<ref name="f-16 replaces F-15">{{cite news|last1=Insinna|first1=Valerie|title=US Air Force chief ambivalent on F-15 Eagle retirement|url=http://www.defensenews.com/articles/air-force-chief-undecided-about-f-15-eagle-retirement|work=Defense News|date=12 April 2017|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=13 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313154846/https://www.defensenews.com/air/2017/04/12/us-air-force-chief-ambivalent-on-f-15-eagle-retirement/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late 2018 and early 2019, following a series of DoD Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation (CAPE) Office studies on affordably recapitalizing the fighter fleet, the Pentagon in its FY 2020 budget requested new-build [[Boeing F-15EX Eagle II|F-15EX]]s — an advanced variant based on the export F-15QA then in production — to replace the F-15Cs and supplement the F-22s to maintain fighter fleet size, with planned total procurement of 144 aircraft.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://about.bgov.com/blog/pentagon-billion-new-boeing-fighters/ |title=Pentagon To Request $1.2 Billion for New Boeing F-15 Fighters |publisher=Bloomberg Government |date=21 December 2018 |access-date=24 December 2018 |archive-date=23 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223074103/https://about.bgov.com/blog/pentagon-billion-new-boeing-fighters/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This allowed USAF to use the existing export production line to quickly and affordably bring fighters into operational service, as restarting the F-22 line was considered cost-prohibitive.<ref name="F15EX_selection">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Colin |url=https://breakingdefense.com/2019/03/shanahan-ethics-agreement-out-how-the-f-15x-decision-was-made/ |title=Shanahan Ethics Agreement Out; How The F-15X Decision Was Made |work=Breaking Defense |date=22 March 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.airforcemag.com/f-15ex-named-the-eagle-ii/ F-15EX Named the Eagle II] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411031354/https://www.airforcemag.com/f-15ex-named-the-eagle-ii/ |date=11 April 2021}}. ''Air Force Magazine''. 7 April 2021.</ref> 

In 2022, it was announced the USAF plan to retire their fleet of F-15C/Ds by 2026, while the F-15Es would retire in the 2030s.<ref>{{cite web |first=John A. |last=Tirpak |url=https://www.airforcemag.com/air-force-would-reduce-fleet-by-250-old-aircraft-bring-on-82-plus-new-ones/ |title=Air Force Would Reduce Fleet by 250 Old Aircraft, Bring on 82-plus New Ones |website=Air Force Magazine |date=28 March 2022 |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331181843/https://www.airforcemag.com/air-force-would-reduce-fleet-by-250-old-aircraft-bring-on-82-plus-new-ones/ |url-status=live}}</ref> By April 2022, RAF Lakenheath had divested its entire fleet of F-15C/Ds, with its aircraft going on to serve in ANG squadrons.<ref>{{cite web |first=Bob |last=Archer |url=https://www.key.aero/article/493rd-fighter-squadron-and-its-f-15c-eagles-depart-europe |title=The 493rd Fighter Squadron and its F-15C Eagles depart Europe |website=key.aero |date=23 May 2022 |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref> Kadena AB divested its Eagle fleet between December 2022 and January 2025,<ref>{{cite web |first=Stefano |last=D'Urso |url=https://theaviationist.com/2022/12/13/f-15cs-have-started-leaving-kadena-air-base/ |title=U.S. Air Force F-15Cs Have Started Leaving Kadena Air Base |website=The Aviationist |date=13 December 2022 |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Rin |last=Sakurai |url=https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/28/kadena-last-operational-f-15-eagle-flight/ |title=End of an Era: Kadena Conducts Last Operational F-15 Eagle Flight |website=The Aviationist |date=28 March 2025 |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref> with the last USAF active duty F-15C flight being flown by ''81-0029'' on 24 January 2025.<ref>{{cite web |first=Unshin Lee |last=Harpley |url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-last-active-duty-f-15c-kadena/ |title=Air Force’s Last Active-Duty F-15C Made Its Final Flight at Kadena |website=Air & Space Forces Magazine |date= |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>