Why the U.S. Air Force Just Deployed Rare New F-15EX Fighters Next to Taiwan

The U.S. Air Force has first the first time deployed F-15EX Eagle II fighters to&nbsp;Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan, marking a major step in plans to permanently deploy the new aircraft to the facility. The aircraft were deployed under the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base to “conduct integration and familiarisation training with local units” on Okinawa, Kadena’s 18th Wing stated in a news release. “This short-term visit marks a key milestone in the Department of Defence’s ongoing effort to modernise U.S. airpower in the region and deter against evolving threats,” the release added, noting that it “also prepares Kadena personnel for the arrival and future sustainment of the F-15EX in Spring 2026.”The Air Force has struggled with serious shortages of the new F-15s, due to major delays to production, with the aircraft remaining in high demand both for deployments to the Pacific, and to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/more-f15ex-needed-ageing-fleet" >serve in the Air National Guard</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/07/15/article_68759fede96942_46209895.webp" title="F-15EX Carrying 12 AIM-120 Missiles During Pre-Flight Checks">The F-15 is the oldest fighter class in production anywhere in the world, and the only heavyweight fighter in production in the Western world. The U.S. Air Force initially intended to stop receiving the aircraft in 2001 with the last delivery of F-15E fighters, and had ceased to receive F-15C/D air superiority fighters in the late 1980s. The&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/25-f22-maiden-flight-looks-like-failure">failure of the F-22</a>&nbsp;fifth generation fighter program to provide a viable successor to the F-15, and major short falls in the production of the F-35A, led the service to resume procurements of F-15s in the early 2020s, which boast much higher weapons payloads, longer ranges and larger sensor suites than any other Western fighters. Procurements are expected to allow the service to smoothly phase out its ageing Cold War era F-15C/D fleet, and possibly eventually its newer F-15E fighters, with the significant commonality between different F-15 variants making this a relatively straightforward process.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/07/15/article_6875a0179619f9_41617613.png" title="Chinese Sixth Generation Long Range Fighter Prototype">Kadena Air Force Base is expected to be prioritised to receive the first permanent deployment of F-15EX fighters due to its particularly sensitive location as the closest U.S. or Western airbase to the Taiwan Strait. The facility previously hosted 48 F-15C/D fighters on permanent deployment, which served far longer than expected due to the shortcomings of the F-22 which prevented them from being replaced. After it was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-withdrawing-f15-44yrs-china-doorstep" >announced</a> in October 2022 that the fighters would be withdrawn after 44 years stationed there, it was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/forward-deployment-f35-stealth-china" >confirmed</a> in July 2024 that 36 F-15EX fighters would be relied on to replace them. Although highly capable, the F-15EX is considered far outmatched by new Chinese J-20 fifth generation fighters, which are similarly large but benefit from much longer ranges and cutting edge stealth capabilities. China is set to introduce its<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/worlds-largest-fighter-plane-china-ultra-long-range-sixth-gen" target="_blank"> first sixth generation fighters </a>into service in the early 2030s, meaning they could begin operating in the region not long after the last ‘4+ generation’ F-15s are delivered to deploy to Kadena.&nbsp;