Direct proof of use
Official U.S. Air Force reporting directly documents F-15E Strike Eagle combat use in Afghanistan. A May 2007 airpower summary said a U.S. Air Force F-15E fired cannon rounds near Sangin after a coalition convoy came under small-arms fire, then dropped a GBU-38 on an insurgent building in the same area.
A separate Air Force article from Bagram Air Base reported that F-15 Strike Eagles had taken over the close-air-support mission there from A-10s. National Museum of the U.S. Air Force material also states that F-15E aircraft effectively delivered GBU-24 Paveway III bombs against high-value targets in Afghanistan.
Sources: May 27 Airpower Summary, Bagram Close-Air-Support Mission, GBU-24 Paveway III Fact Sheet
Bagram strike and support role
The public record places F-15E operations inside the Afghanistan air campaign by 2007. At Bagram, the 391st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed from Mountain Home Air Force Base and used the Strike Eagle for close air support, with aircrews responding to joint terminal attack controller requests from ground forces.
The May 2007 airpower summary gives an incident-level example of kinetic use: the aircraft strafed insurgents near Sangin and released a GBU-38 during International Security Assistance Force support operations. That source ties the F-15E role to convoy protection, close air support, and overwatch rather than to basing alone.
Sources: Bagram Close-Air-Support Mission, May 27 Airpower Summary
Later Afghanistan presence
F-15E aircraft continued to appear in Afghanistan service records after the 2007 close-air-support examples. A 2012 Air Force article described F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and crews operating at Bagram Airfield during Operation Enduring Freedom, including one airframe reaching a 10,000-flying-hour milestone while assigned there.
During the final Kabul evacuation in August 2021, AFCENT reported that F-15E Strike Eagles, support equipment, and personnel from the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron were forward deployed to help protect passenger aircraft departing Hamid Karzai International Airport. AFCENT identified those Strike Eagles as the final manned U.S. military aircraft to leave Afghan airspace in support of the noncombatant evacuation operation.
Sources: F-15E Flying-Hour Milestone, Red Tails Afghanistan Evacuation
Role in the conflict
The sourced Afghanistan record supports a U.S. and coalition-side role for the F-15E as a fixed-wing strike and close-air-support aircraft. Documented missions include convoy protection, troops-in-contact support, guided-bomb delivery, cannon strafing, and evacuation air-cover support.
The cited sources do not indicate Taliban or allied militant operation of the F-15E. They document U.S. Air Force use in specific periods of the 2001-2021 war rather than a complete sortie history for every F-15E Afghanistan deployment.
Sources: May 27 Airpower Summary, GBU-24 Paveway III Fact Sheet, Red Tails Afghanistan Evacuation
