Combat aircraft

team is now getting overrun and needs

your help. Maybe they extended your

mission and instead of being over Fallujah,

they need you north of Aleppo.’

‘Typically, we  ew with two di erent

loadouts,’ continues Taylor: ‘one each for

the  ight lead and the wingman. This

was to add  exibility. In the summertime

when the weather was better they would

carry GBU-12s and in the winter, when

the weather was bad, they  exed over to

JDAMs [Joint Direct Attack Munitions] that

typically included three [500lb] GBU-38s,

three GBU-54s and a single [2,000lb]

GBU-31 on the centerline for the wingman

and a rack of SDBs [GBU-39 Small

Diameter Bombs] for the  ight lead.’

Maj Jack ‘Slick’ Martin is a pilot currently

 ying with the ‘Lancers’, but he recounts

his experiences when he was with the

492nd FS at RAF Lakenheath. ‘We were

close to the  ght in England, so we

deployed multiple times. When I left

[Lakenheath] I had over 1,000 hours in the

Strike Eagle having  own combat missions

in  ve di erent countries.’

Martin’s most recent deployment started

o being part of Operation ‘Enduring

Freedom’, before switching to OIR. ‘There

wasn’t a lot of kinetic activity initially, so

we were just trying to get the lay of the

land and see who the players were. The

last two months of that deployment at

the end of 2014, everything went crazy. I

 ew with the same two WSOs during my

combat deployment. We can divvy up the

tasks because I can be working the tanker

and airspace issues and he can handle

the JTACs and the sensors. One time I was

on the [tanker] boom taking gas and my

WSO was targeting weapons. We had the

tanker drag us over the target area where

we then disconnected, went hot and then

dropped a bomb. The division of duties is

an amazing force multiplier.’

Sage believes the 30-year-old F-15E

is a critical element of USAF combat air

power, and will continue to serve with

great credibility until at least 2040. ‘On

its 30th anniversary, the F-15E is still a

phenomenal and capable war ghting

machine. It controls the sky and

dominates the ground,’ enthuses the

Strike Eagle a cionado. ‘It’s an important

piece of equipment our air force uses to

support global operations and national

defense.’

Acknowledgements: The author

wishes to thank Col Christopher

Sage and the entire team at the 4th

Fighter Wing.

A sharp break is

executed for the

camera, showcasing

the smart special

markings of 87-0189.

January 2018

38

http://www.combataircraft.net

FEATURE | 4TH FIGHTER WING

30-39 4th FW C.indd 38 23/11/2017 11:54