Defence`s Feeds

The F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing, recently painted to commemorate Operation El Dorado Canyon’s 40th anniversary, took off on May. 7, 2026 with a heavy load of inert training rounds.

F-15E Strike Eagle 93-0311’s new camouflage paint scheme was officially unveiled on Apr. 28, 2026 to mark forty years since RAF Lakenheath took part in Operation El Dorado Canyon. The scheme is representative of the one worn by the F-111 Aardvarks employed on the long-range strike mission against Libya, with a special tribute paid to KARMA 52 – the only F-111 lost during the raid, resulting in the deaths of pilot Captain Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci and weapon systems officer (WSO) Captain Paul F. Lorence.

91-0311 departing RAF Lakenheath on May. 7. | Source: Stewart Jack

Our friend, aviation photographer Stewart Jack, captured these images of 93-0311 as it took off on a training sortie on May. 7, flying under the callsign EAGLE 31. Notably, the jet was seen to be carrying eight inert versions of the GBU-12 Paveway II guided bomb, distinguishable by solid blue casings. 

EAGLE 31 took off from Lakenheath with wingman EAGLE 32 shortly after 08:30 local time (07:30 UTC), and began their sortie by meeting with a KC-135 Stratotanker to take on fuel before heading to the low flying areas of North Wales. After finishing up the low flying segment of their sortie, EAGLE flight headed for the Holbeach Air Weapons Range on the coast north of RAF Lakenheath where the entire payload was dropped. 

This essentially simulates a real world strike mission, with a low-level ingress through the Welsh Valleys before setting up for weapon employment at the range simulating the target. 

91-0311 departing RAF Lakenheath on May. 7. | Source: Stewart Jack

The GBU-12 is one of the most commonly seen variants from the Paveway series, and equips a 500 lb Mark 82 bomb with a nose-mounted laser seeker unit and deployable tail guidance fins. These fins have an ‘on/off’ style of operation – known in the industry as bang-bang guidance – where the control surfaces can only deflect at the maximum amount, with no fine adjustment. The bomb’s guidance system accounts for this by over-correcting for any course adjustments then immediately deflecting in the opposite way to align with the intended trajectory. This method allows for simpler mechanics and electronics, lowering the overall cost for the single-use system. 

Being able to easily carry such a large number of these munitions is one of the F-15E’s biggest strengths. In the images we can see that even with such a load, the jet’s wing hardpoints are still empty and would be available for external fuel tanks and/or air to air weaponry. All of the air to ground munitions are carried on fuselage stations, with the additional mounting points on the aircraft’s conformal fuel tanks (CFT) – fitted on each side of the aircraft, outboard of the air intakes – providing significant extra capacity.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle conducts a combat air patrol in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 7, 2025. | Source: U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. John C.B. Ennis

On the F-15, these CFTs are also known as ‘FAST Packs’ – Fuel and Sensor, Tactical – and were initially developed for the air to air focused F-15C. In U.S. service, these have almost exclusively been associated with the Strike Eagle, and these darker-colored Eagles are rarely seen without them. The main U.S. Air Force F-15Cs seen to regularly carry them were those based with the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) at Keflavik, Iceland. 

Watch them fly bayou!
Louisiana’s 159th Fighter Wing #Boeing F-15Cs take flight with new conformal fuel tanks – increasing #USAF range and homeland defense capability! #F15 #AirNatGuard pic.twitter.com/qjrRNblIQC

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) February 5, 2018

Since the CFTs cannot be jettisoned in flight to gain extra speed and maneuverability, the air-to-air focused pilots of the F-15C have preferred to use more traditional drop tanks. For the F-15E’s strike mission, the permanent impact to the aircraft’s flight characteristics are a worthy trade-off for the additional range and payload options they offer.

The U.S. has said it doesn’t plan to operate its F-15EX Eagle IIs with CFTs, although this may be reconsidered with the expansion of the F-15EX order and the prospect of them replacing older F-15E Strike Eagles in the coming years. 

Many thanks as always to Stewart Jack for contributing these images, you can find him on Facebook and Instagram.

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council will take place on 8 May 2026 at 12.00

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council and the Foreign Affairs (Defence) Council will take place on 8 May 2025 at 10.45. 

President Costa and President von der Leyen received letters of credence from thirteen new Ambassadors to the European Union.

A tagállamok kormányainak képviselői a mai napon kineveztek egy bírát a Törvényszékre.

A Tanács az Európai Békekeret keretében 15 millió EUR értékű kétoldalú támogatási intézkedést fogadott el a szenegáli fegyveres erők hadműveleti készenlétének a yaoundéi rendszer keretében történő megerősítése érdekében.

A Tanács új szabályokról állapodott meg, amelyek célja, hogy a tagállamok nemzeti hatóságai, az Európai Ügyészség és az OLAF közötti együttműködés megerősítése révén támogassák a hozzáadottérték-adóval (héa) kapcsolatos csalások elleni küzdelmet az EU-ban.

President of the European Council António Costa presented the outcome of the 1st EU-Armenia summit held in Yerevan (Armenia) on 5 May 2026.

On 5 May 2026, the European Union and Armenia held their first-ever summit in Yerevan. During the summit, leaders adopted a joint declaration reaffirming the EU’s steadfast commitment to further strengthen its relations with Armenia and to support Armenia's sovereignty, resilience, and comprehensive reform agenda.

On 5 May 2026, European Council President António Costa attended the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan, Armenia. In his opening remarks, he emphasised the EU’s commitment to deepen its engagement with Armenia, and to strengthen sectorial cooperation across new areas.

Remarks by Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis on the EU’s response to the current economic and energy price situation, financial stability, cross-border banking in the EU and digital finance.

President of the European Council, António Costa, outlined the main results of the discussions of the leaders during the meeting of the European Political Community held in Yerevan, Armenia, on 4 May 2026.

The European Council will take place on 18 and 19 June 2026 in the Europa building in Brussels.

Information about accreditation requirements for the one-year badge (2026)

On May 4, the President of the European Council, António Costa, participated in the Meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia.

A sajtószabadság világnapján az Európai Unió újólag megerősíti, hogy – különösen a növekvő globális erőszakra, a jogi megfélemlítésre és a dezinformáció terjedésére adott válaszként – határozottan elkötelezett a média függetlenségének és az újságírók biztonságának a védelme mellett, amelyek a demokrácia alapvető pillérei.

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 4 - 10 May 2026.

Az Európai Tanács elnöke, António Costa, az Európai Bizottság elnökével, Ursula von der Leyennel együtt képviseli majd az EU-t a nyolcadik EU–Mexikó csúcstalálkozón, amelyet 2026. május 22-én Mexikóvárosban tartanak. Mexikót Claudia Sheinbaum elnök fogja képviselni.

European Council President António Costa addressed the press following his meeting with the coalition of Mayors on Housing, in Brussels on 30 April 2026. 

Three U.S. Navy F-14D Tomcats would be transferred to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Alabama, and one might be made flyable again, following the approval of the “Maverick Act.”

The U.S. Congress is voting on a new bill which might see a F-14D Tomcat return to the skies 20 years after it was retired. The bill, notably called the “Maverick Act,” was introduced by Senator Tim Sheehy, co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Kelly, on Mar. 23, 2026.

Maverick Act

The bill passed Senate by Unanimous Consent on Apr. 28, 2026, and is now in line for voting at the House, with the latest update on May 4. Should the bill also pass the House, it would authorize the transfer by the Secretary of the Navy to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Alabama, of three F-14D Tomcats.

https://t.co/ud4jZg86m5

The bill still needs to pass the house.

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) May 7, 2026

The Commission directs the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the space-dedicated museum established by the government of Alabama in 1970 and sometimes referred to “Earth’s largest space museum.” According to the text of the bill, it appears that the three aircraft have already been identified with the Bureau Numbers 164341, 164602, 159437.

The document specifies that the aircraft “do not have any capability for use as a platform for launching or releasing munitions or any other combat capability that it was designed to have.” A set of conditions is then listed, with the Secretary of the Navy not required to repair or alter the condition of the aircraft before conveying its ownership but providing any maintenance and operations manuals and excess spare parts.

An F-14D Tomcat pulls up after performing a fly-by past the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) as the ship operates in the Atlantic Ocean on June 19, 2006. | Source: U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Miguel A. Contreras

The latter is where things gets interesting, mentioning for the first time a possible return to the skies of the Tomcat:

“The Secretary shall provide excess spare parts to make one of the F–14D aircraft flyable or able to complete a static display, provided that any part transferred is from existing Navy stock, with no items being procured on behalf of the Commission.”

However, the activities required to make this happen will be the sole responsibility of the Commission:

“The Secretary will not be responsible for transferring any additional parts or providing any additional support beyond what is stated in this section, during or after the conveyance of the aircraft.”

The Commission will be able to obtain qualified support outside of the Department of the Navy, something similar to what the Collings Foundation did with the F-4D Phantom, the type’s only flying example in the U.S.:

“The Secretary may authorize the Commission to enter into agreements with qualified nonprofit organizations for the purpose of restoring and operating the aircraft transferred under subsection for public display, airshows, and commemorative events to preserve naval aviation heritage.”

The document also specifies that the transfer will be made at no cost to the government. “Any costs associated with such conveyance, costs of determining compliance with terms of the conveyance, and costs of operation and maintenance of the aircraft conveyed shall be borne by the Commission,” mentions the bill.

An F-14B Tomcat assigned to VF-103 ‘Jolly Rogers’ flies over the Croatian coastline near Pula. | Source: United States Navy photo by Capt. Dana Potts Feasibility

The U.S. has been historically extremely restrictive regarding the access to the retired F-14 airframes. In fact, access to spare parts was tightly controlled to avoid any possibility of smuggling toward Iran, which was the type’s only operator after the U.S. Navy retired its Tomcats in 2006.

Many parts were also destroyed, which would make difficult the procurement of the required components to make the aircraft flyable again. It should be noted that, upon retirement, many components were removed from the aircraft, before they were parked in the desert.

Before returning to flight, the F-14D would need deep inspections, both for the airframe’s structure and the systems. After that, work would be done in order to make the aircraft compliant with the requirements for the certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.

This process is expected to be highly expensive, mainly due to among of work after the aircraft sat in the desert for 20 years and the lack of supply chain. The Tomcat was also known for its high operating costs, which would make sustained airshow operations unlikely.

However, limited flight demonstrations and heritage events might be more likely. The timeline is another unknown aspect, and the possible return to flight might take years before materializing.