A year later, air and ground crews of the 335th FS and 335th FGS were decorated for their actions during the massive Iranian attack against Israel.
F-15E Strike Eagle crews from the 335th Fighter Squadron (FS) and 335th Fighter Generation Squadron (FGS) were recognized for their rapid response and performance in the defense of Israel in the night of Apr. 12-13, 2024. The U.S. Air Force described that night as the largest air-to-air engagement in over 50 years.
A ceremony was held at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, on Mar. 28, 2025 with ACC (Air Combat Command) chief Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, Airmen and families in attendance. Eight Airmen received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the fourth-highest military award for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement; one received the Bronze Star; 12 received a Commendation Medal; and ten received an Air and Space Achievement Medal.
“We’re here today to recognize some American heroes and highlight their accomplishments,” Wilsbach said. “These Airmen were agile, mobile and hostile, generating overwhelming combat power in a short period of time to defeat a threat.”
On that day, the 335th FS and 335th FGS were just deployed in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Less than 24 hours after their arrival, multiple one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles were launched at Israel from Iran and Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen. Working quickly to get into the action, the F-15Es were able to destroy more than 80 one-way attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles out of a total of more than 300 UAVs, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles fired by Iran and the Houthis at Israel.
“Today’s ceremony was a great way to recognize the amazing Airmen of the 4th Fighter Wing,” said Col. Morgan Lohse, 4th Fighter Wing Commander. “Their accomplishments emphasize the importance of air superiority and were a big step towards restoring U.S. deterrence of Iran. It was an honor to recognize their historic accomplishments and the success of the entire team.”
A separate LinkedIn post by chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance Riki Ellison said that a crew received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the action on Apr. 13, 2024, when they released their entire payload of four AIM-120 AMRAAMs and four AIM-9X Sidewinders. The F-15Es from the 335th FS were not the only ones in the area, as the 494th FS from RAF Lakenheath, U.K., was also deployed in the CENTCOM AOR (Area of Responsibility) at the time.
The F-15E from the 335th FS featured in the publicly released material on DVIDS bears 13 arrow symbols and 49 Tomahawk logos (the traditional Native American axe-like weapon). This is a reference to the squadron’s nickname, the “Chiefs”, and its emblem, which shows the head of a Native American chief.
It is not clear if the markings correspond to the type of weapons fired at Israel and destroyed by the F-15s or the weapons employed by the F-15s themselves. It is also not clear if these are the kill markings of the single aircraft or the entire unit, although the total number of markings is less than the number of targets shots down mentioned by the service.
The figure of 300 Iranian and Houthi projectiles could also include the overall number of Iranian and Houthi projectiles fired at both Israel, U.S. and European coalition warships part of Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. F-16s from other U.S. bases in the Middle East and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets flying from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carriers have also been engaged in shooting down the projectiles.
Other F-15s returning with kill marks
As reported by The Aviationist in May 2024, 12 F-15Es of the 494th Fighter Squadron “Mighty Black Panthers,” part of the 48th Fighter Wing (FW), returned to RAF Lakenheath with kill markings and stunning nose arts after their deployment in the CENTCOM (Central Command) AOR. The markings on those F-15Es had red AIM-9 silhouettes, each denoting a Sidewinder missile fired in combat, as well as the classic black bomb markings.
In that report, we mentioned that Iran, its aligned Houthi group from Yemen and proxies based in Iraq, fired 170 one-way “kamikaze” drones, 120 Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles, and 30 Land-Attack Cruise Missiles towards Israel. That engagement saw the F-15E Strike Eagles of the 494th FS and 335th FS collecting a combined “kill score” of 70 Iranian drones. This figure is not very far off from the number of 80 drones being quoted now.
As mentioned earlier, the statement for the ceremony recognizing the 335th FS and 335th FGS role said the defensive operation saw the units shooting down more than 80 one-way attack drones and over six ballistic missiles. “In total, Iran launched more than 300 UAVs, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. Coalition forces and Israel destroyed nearly 99% of all inbound weapons,” the service added.
F-15Es engaging Houthi, Iranian projectiles
The Iranian attack started less than 24 hours after the 335th FS and 335th FGS arrived in theater. As drones and missiles soared through skies, the airmen of the 335th EFGS worked to reconfigure F-15E Strike Eagles for combat and, within hours, six fully armed F-15Es were ready to launch.
“Once the aircraft arrived, we had to completely reconfigure them from no munitions to battle-ready,” said Lt. Col. Madison Gilbert, 335th EFGS commander.
“It was a whole enterprise effort that day, getting us ready to fight and win was not as simple as taking the travel pods off and getting back in the air.” further added Lt. Col. Kevin Murphy, 335th EFS commander. “Our maintainer teammates need to take large 10-foot sections of the plane off and get them in the precise configuration to add more munitions. Time was not on our side, and they made it happen. I don’t know any other group of people who could have made it all work in time.”
The Strike Eagles carried four each of AIM-9Xs and AIM-120 AMRAAMs. However, the colossal number of Houthi and Iranian projectiles overwhelmed even the F-15E crews, who told CNN in a Nov. 2024 interview that at least one aircraft unsuccessfully switched to guns after running out of missiles.
According to Murphy, approximately 45 minutes into the engagement, their formation of F-15Es had fired all their munitions. They landed and were quickly re-armed by 335th EFGS weapons personnel, returning to the fight shortly thereafter. Ellison added in the LinkedIn post that the landing was under both missile and drone attacks on the unidentified CENTCOM base, with “debris falling from Iranian Ballistic Missiles” that were shot down.
“Everyone did exactly what they were trained to do,” said Murphy. “This was a shining example of why we exercise.”
The F-15Es also flew in the backdrop of U.S. Patriot air defense missiles being launched at the Iranian missiles, bearing the deadly mix of fending off swarm attacks, while avoiding friendly fire. There are systems, such as the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), in place specifically to prevent targeting allied aircraft instead of hostile targets, however that risk cannot be ruled out entirely.
It must also be noted that the F-15E Strike Eagle has not yet been cleared to operate the APKWS II (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II) low-cost laser-guided rockets, which have been used by U.S. Air Force F-16s to efficiently intercept OWA drones at lower cost and in higher numbers before needing to rearm. F-16s in the CENTCOM AOR are flying with two AIM-120s, two AIM-9s and at least one, sometimes two, pods with seven APKWS rockets.
U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75″ Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/bDoVnKwotc
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025
Overwhelmed and outnumbered
Lakenheath’s F-15E pilots and WSOs (Weapons System Officer) shed more light on the night of Apr. 13, 2024, explaining how the swarm attacks depleted the fighters’ missile payload and how they had to land and rearm under drone and missile strikes and falling debris from the air defenses.
Speaking to CNN, two of them described “flying as close as they could to an Iranian drone, well below the minimum safe altitude for the F-15 Strike Eagle, and using a gun – an extremely dangerous maneuver in total darkness, against a barely visible target.” The M61 cannon was the last resort after all other weapons were used, but the fighter couldn’t hit the target.
The F-15 air and ground crew were “overwhelmed” by the “Iranian onslaught, which was the US Air Force’s first real test against a prolonged and large-scale drone attack,” spending “hours in the air that night.” Lt. Col. Timothy “Diesel” Causey noted how “low cost, low risk” attack drones lend the enemy a mass fire advantage, for which they “hadn’t started practicing on a large scale yet.”
An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.@usairforce @USAFCENT pic.twitter.com/VyWHEVzJwL
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 3, 2024
The prolonged attack saw the F-15E Strike Eagles expending their air-to-air missiles payload in 20 minutes, followed by the “daunting” task of landing at the U.S. military base under exploding Iranian missiles and drones intercepted by the base’s Patriot air defense system and the debris raining down on the runways. “The attack drove home how the military will have to grapple with a new generation of warfare that pits multimillion dollar fighter jets against cheap, slow-moving attack drones that can easily evade highly sophisticated radar systems,” CNN added.
