U.S. Air Force F-15C and F-15E aircraft were deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with F-15C Eagles contributing air-superiority coverage and F-15E Strike Eagles flying combat support and strike missions over Iraq.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| F-15C, F-15D, and F-15E aircraft deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. | Sources: F-15 Eagle fact sheet |
| The opening air-campaign report counted 42 F-15C and 48 F-15E aircraft among peak coalition aircraft employed. | |
| 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-15E Strike Eagles flew combat air support missions over Iraq. | Sources: Hard bank, Combat air support |
| An F-15E crew from the 333rd Fighter Squadron was killed during an Operation Iraqi Freedom combat mission. |
Timeline
The CENTAF Operation Iraqi Freedom numbers report covers the opening air-campaign reporting period from 0300Z on March 19 to 0259Z on April 18, 2003.
CENTAF recorded the start of large-scale coalition air strikes against Iraq at A-Hour on March 21, 2003.
CENTAF listed April 6, 2003, as the date on which air supremacy was declared over all of Iraq.
Capt. Eric B. Das and Maj. William Watkins were killed when their F-15E went down during an Operation Iraqi Freedom combat mission over Iraq.
A U.S. Air Force photo caption documents a 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-15E Strike Eagle patrolling over Baghdad during a combat air support mission.
Sources: Combat air support
The U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle fact sheet states that F-15C, F-15D, and F-15E models deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. A U.S. Central Air Forces air-campaign report for the opening phase of the war separately lists 42 F-15C and 48 F-15E aircraft among peak coalition aircraft employed between March 19 and April 18, 2003.
Air Force imagery from Operation Iraqi Freedom places 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-15E Strike Eagles over Iraq on combat air support missions and says the squadron deployed from RAF Lakenheath to support the operation.
Sources: F-15 Eagle fact sheet, Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers, Hard bank
The F-15 family split into two relevant mission sets in the war. F-15C Eagles represented the air-superiority branch of the family, while F-15E Strike Eagles brought the two-seat dual-role strike model used for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
The CENTAF report described the Iraqi air threat as including fighter and attack aircraft, early-warning radars, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-aircraft artillery. Within that operating environment, coalition air forces began large-scale air strikes against Iraq on March 21, 2003, and declared air supremacy over all of Iraq on April 6.
Sources: F-15 Eagle fact sheet, F-15E Strike Eagle fact sheet, Operation Iraqi Freedom By The Numbers
The clearest aircraft-specific public imagery in the cataloged sources concerns the F-15E. Air Force photo captions document F-15E Strike Eagles patrolling over Baghdad during a combat air support mission on August 28, 2003, and two 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-15Es flying through Iraqi airspace during another combat air support mission.
Those records show post-invasion F-15E use after the fall of Baghdad as Operation Iraqi Freedom continued beyond the initial campaign. They support a narrow conclusion: U.S. F-15E aircraft were not merely deployed to the theater, but were flying combat-support missions over Iraq.
Sources: Combat air support, Hard bank
The war also included an F-15E combat loss. A Military Times casualty profile for Capt. Eric B. Das states that he died on April 7, 2003, while piloting an F-15E that went down during a combat mission over Iraq. A U.S. Air Force photo caption commemorating Maj. William Watkins and Capt. Das identifies them as an F-15E Strike Eagle crew killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
