Mountain Home F-15E Strike Eagles return from Middle East deployment with new nose art

Twelve F-15E Strike Eagles assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, landed at RAF Lakenheath on Sep. 16 while returning to the United States after a deployment to the Middle East, according to an account of their transit. The jets belong to the 389th Fighter Squadron, part of the 366th Fighter Wing.

The aircraft had deployed in March 2026. They arrived in the region on Mar. 1, a day after the start of the operation that the article identifies as Operation Epic Fury, and the unit appears to have operated from Ovda Air Base in Israel alongside other Strike Eagle units in the area, including a large part of Lakenheath's own force.

On the way home, the jets at Lakenheath were seen decorated with an assortment of nose art drawing on film and television references. Star Wars, Marvel and Austin Powers accounted for most of the designs, with individual nods also made to The Terminator and DC, along with WWE figure The Undertaker. One jet, 87-0204, named "Guardian", appears not to follow the theme.

Another, 87-0182, carries the name "Thanos" and the tagline "Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives". At least one of the unit's jets had been shown in an official U.S. Air Force release on Mar. 16, 2026, with almost all identifying markings apparently obscured in the image.