142nd Wing / Oregon Air National Guard F-15EX Eagle II’s at Nellis Air Force Base for Live Munitions Training

Story and photos by Ken Middleton

142nd Wing / Oregon Air National Guard F-15EX Eagle II’s
at Nellis Air Force Base for Live Munitions Training
31 August / 1-2 September 2026

When I heard the F15EX Eagle II’s of the 142nd Wing Oregon ANG would be at Nellis AFB at the end of August 2026 for live bomb training for the very first time, I decided to book a trip there to photograph a historic occasion. The unit would also be supporting the Nellis AFB Weapons Instructors Course (WIC). The 142nd Wing is the first operational F-15EX Eagle II unit. Just a few months prior to this, the unit was at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, dropping inert weapons for the first time.

I knew it would be hot, and I had never been to Las Vegas in August. Fortunately, it was about 5 degrees Fahrenheit “cooler” than it would normally be, with daytime highs around 95-100 F.

I shot by the Las Vegas Motor Speedway around Gate 6, knowing that aircraft with live weapons typically (or maybe always) take off to the north, in hopes they’d do a flex departure to the West/Northwest on their way to the range. As luck would have it, most of the departures were to the north with a flex, with a few to the South.

Most of the flights I caught were in the morning, with a tougher light condition and many backlit photos. Shooting RAW helped salvage many shots.

Upon returning to Nellis AFB, the jets would land to the South on 21L, so their breaks and approaches were a bit far for any decent photos.

The jets I photographed all had wing fuel tanks, and on the center line station – either nothing, a Sniper pod or a Mk-82 2000-pound live bomb. Some jets carried 2 crew members, where most just had a single. The press release below mentions 500-pound Mk-82s, but none of the jets I photographed carried that weapon.

A couple launches were a mix of F-15EX’s and Nellis-based F-15E Strike Eagles, and they would return together in formation.

The serial numbers I photographed were:
20-0008, 21-0009, 21-0013, 21-0015, 21-0016, 21-0017 and 21-0018

Press release from the Oregon Military Department:
PORTLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ore. – The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing has dropped live bombs for the first time with the F-15EX Eagle II during a training exercise in Nevada. The 142nd Wing operated its aircraft fleet out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for three weeks in late August and early September in support of the U.S. Air Force’s Weapons Instructor Course (WIC). During this time, the unit hit the historical milestone, dropping live bombs from operational F-15EX aircraft.

Based in Portland, Oregon, the 142nd Wing is the first operational F-15EX unit in the U.S. Air Force and has reached several milestones with this new aircraft. Dropping bombs is significant, as the wing has focused on Air-to-Air Combat since World War II. The 142nd previously flew the F-15C before receiving the Air Force’s first operational F-15EX model in June 2024.
“This milestone is another major step in our transition from an air-superiority organization to a truly multi-role air dominance force,” said Air Force Colonel Joshua Hovanas, 142nd Operations Group Commander. “What our Airmen accomplished at Nellis demonstrates the incredible capability of the F-15EX, but more importantly, it shows just how far this team has come and how quickly we’re building real combat capability for our nation.”

While supporting WIC at Nellis AFB, a leading U.S. Air Force fighter pilot exercise, Oregon pilots dropped 500-pound and 2,000-pound live bombs in the Nevada Test and Training Range north of Las Vegas. They also supported student pilots from other units during WIC training scenarios.

On-base USAF photos from Nellis AFB

All in all, it was a great trip and productive in terms of getting the photos I had hoped for.