An F-15E Strike was flying from Diego Garcia to Kadena when it was discovered that a wheel was missing.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle conducted an emergency landing on Aug. 4, 2025, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, after it was discovered that a wheel was missing. In a press release, Kadena’s 18th Wing said the aircraft landed safely without injuries to the crew.
The Wing notably stated that “the wheel was found to be missing in flight and was recovered on the flightline at U.S. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia.” Photos posted by Stars and Stripes show that the missing wheel detached from the right main landing gear.
PHOTOS: An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle deployed to Kadena Air Base landed safely Monday evening after one of its wheels was discovered missing in flight.
📸: Hung-Hsin Hsu / Special to Stars and Stripes pic.twitter.com/NbHsVgtmO8
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) August 5, 2025
The Strike Eagle landed at Kadena with sparks and later black smoke originating from the wheel’s hub, and emergency serviced responded to ensure everything went smoothly. As usual, an investigation will now be launched to determine why the wheel detached from the aircraft.
Similar incidents in the past required the aircraft to conduct a belly landing to reduce the risks due to the imbalance and reduced controllability during the landing roll. As the photos show, this was not the case as the aircraft performed a rather normal landing.
According to Stars and Stripes, the 18th Wing has launched safety inspections on the F-15Es deployed to Kadena. Once complete, the Strike Eagles will return to flight activities.
Diego Garcia
The mention of the wheel being found at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean is notable, as this identifies the aircraft as one of the F-15Es from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, which were first deployed to Kadena in April with the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and in May were deployed to Diego Garcia to provide force protection and B-52s and KC-135s were deployed there.
In fact, as tensions in the area kept rising, six B-2A Spirit stealth bombers were deployed there to strike Houthi targets, and were later replaced by four B-52Hs. The F-15Es have been in the spotlight for their ability to defend targets from cruise missile and drone attacks, especially after they were cleared to employ up to 42 AGR-20F Falco 70 mm guided rockets.
Out of 12 jets deployed to Kadena, six were moved to Diego Garcia, which sits about 4,000 miles away. The strategic outpost is considered to be outside the range of Iranian ballistic missiles, as it is about 2,400 miles away from the country, but the U.S. decided anyways to not take any chances.
