An F-15E Strike was flying from Diego Garcia to Kadena when it was found {that a} wheel was lacking.
A U.S. Air Power F-15E Strike Eagle carried out an emergency touchdown on Aug. 4, 2025, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, after it was found {that a} wheel was lacking. In a press launch, Kadena’s 18th Wing stated the plane landed safely with out accidents to the crew.
The Wing notably acknowledged that “the wheel was discovered to be lacking in flight and was recovered on the flightline at U.S. Naval Assist Facility Diego Garcia.” Images posted by Stars and Stripes present that the lacking wheel indifferent from the correct essential touchdown gear.
PHOTOS: An Air Power F-15E Strike Eagle deployed to Kadena Air Base landed safely Monday night after considered one of its wheels was found lacking in flight.
📸: Hung-Hsin Hsu / Particular 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 make sure the whole lot went easily. As traditional, an investigation will now be launched to find out why the wheel indifferent from the plane.
Related incidents previously required the plane to conduct a stomach touchdown to scale back the dangers as a result of imbalance and diminished controllability in the course of the touchdown roll. Because the pictures present, this was not the case because the plane carried out a somewhat regular touchdown.
In accordance with Stars and Stripes, the 18th Wing has launched security inspections on the F-15Es deployed to Kadena. As soon as full, the Strike Eagles will return to flight actions.
Diego Garcia
The point out of the wheel being discovered at Naval Assist Facility Diego Garcia within the Indian Ocean is notable, as this identifies the plane as one of many F-15Es from Seymour Johnson Air Power Base, North Carolina, which had been first deployed to Kadena in April with the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and in Could had been deployed to Diego Garcia to supply power safety and B-52s and KC-135s had been deployed there.
In actual fact, as tensions within the space saved rising, six B-2A Spirit stealth bombers had been deployed there to strike Houthi targets, and had been later changed by 4 B-52Hs. The F-15Es have been within the highlight for his or her skill to defend targets from cruise missile and drone assaults, particularly after they had been cleared to make use of as much as 42 AGR-20F Falco 70 mm guided rockets.
Out of 12 jets deployed to Kadena, six had been moved to Diego Garcia, which sits about 4,000 miles away. The strategic outpost is taken into account to be exterior the vary of Iranian ballistic missiles, as it’s about 2,400 miles away from the nation, however the U.S. determined in any case to not take any probabilities.
