“We are currently using conformals that we received from ACC [Air Combat Command] on two F-15EX Eagle IIs,” SMSgt. Steve Conklin, a public affairs officer with the Oregon Air National Guard, told TWZ.
Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing: two operational jets with CFTs
A pair of operational F-15EX Eagle II fighters assigned to the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing have been observed flying with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs). Photographer Bill Shemley spotted the CFT-equipped jets operating at Portland International Airport, which is collocated with Portland Air National Guard Base — the 142nd’s home. One of the jets identified in Shemley’s photographs is serial number 20-0012, part of the first production batch delivered to the 142nd beginning in 2024; a stock photo of another first-batch jet, serial number 20-0007, shows the aircraft without CFTs.
Conformal fuel tanks: capacity, pylons, and provenance
The tanks in question are the same type designed for the F-15E and other members of the extended Strike Eagle family. Each CFT can hold some 750 gallons of fuel and adds six additional pylons. The CFT visible on 20-0012 bears the insignia of the 366th Fighter Wing, which operates F-15E Strike Eagles from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The Oregon Guard’s public affairs officer said the conformals were provided by Air Combat Command and that the unit has flown the approved configuration for the last two weeks.
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End the scrambleTraining, air-to-ground skills, and live releases
The appearance of CFTs on 142nd aircraft coincides with the unit’s increasing air-to-ground activity. Over the past year the 142nd has been sending Eagle IIs, pilots, and ground personnel to Mountain Home for air-to-ground mission training. In July the Oregon Air National Guard announced one of its F-15EXs had dropped training bombs for the first time while operating from Mountain Home, and the first release of a live bomb from a 142nd F-15EX occurred during training out of Nellis Air Force Base in September. The 366th Fighter Wing insignia on the CFT and the unit’s recent training deployments underline the link between the 142nd’s evolving mission set and the use of conformal tanks.
Procurement posture: fleet size, Lot 8, and budget language
As of September, the Air Force had received 22 F-15EXs, including test jets, out of a planned fleet of 267 Eagle IIs. That target fleet size was revealed earlier this year after the service said the target had roughly doubled from a previously stated program of record of 129 aircraft. The Department of the Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal included an explicit request for funding for CFTs to go with all 24 Eagle IIs in the eighth production batch, Lot 8. The service previously did not plan to field CFTs on first operational F-15EX aircraft, explaining that the program as originally funded was a direct replacement for the F-15C/D in air-to-air and homeland defense roles and that the F-15C/D does not typically operate with CFTs.
What this means for the 142nd Wing, Air Combat Command, and the Air Force’s Strike Eagle plans
- 142nd Wing: The unit’s use of CFTs complements recent training that has moved the squadron into air-to-ground tasks — live releases at Nellis and training at Mountain Home — and increases unrefueled reach and stores-carrying capacity on individual jets.
- Air Combat Command (ACC): ACC supplied the conformals used by the 142nd’s two jets and appears to be enabling early operational experimentation with the tanks on combat-coded F-15EXs.
- Department of the Air Force / program planners: The FY2027 budget’s explicit request for CFTs for Lot 8 shows procurement interest in equipping at least part of the production line with conformals; the service has also tied the growth of the F-15EX fleet to beginning recapitalization of the aging F-15E Strike Eagle force.
The two 142nd jets flying now with conformal fuel tanks serve as a concrete example of how the Eagle II’s role is shifting from a narrowly defined air-to-air replacement toward a broader strike and long-range payload platform. The Air Force has stated CFTs were not originally planned for early operational F-15EXs, yet the FY2027 budget request and the operational pictures from Portland suggest the service is actively reassessing that posture. At the same time, the Air Force is moving toward adding a missile approach warning system (MAWS) to Eagle IIs — another capability the aircraft was designed to accommodate but that was initially deferred — a change the source links to “recent combat experiences over Iran.”
Two jets. A borrowed set of conformals from ACC. An explicit budget ask for Lot 8. Those facts together mark an incremental but telling shift in how the F-15EX is being equipped and employed.
Source: TWZ — Operational F-15EXs Have Started Flying With Conformal Fuel Tanks
