Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Ken Wilsbach and Capt. James Armstrong, a pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron, take off in an F-15D Eagle from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, April 17, 2023. (Sebastian Romawac/U.S. Air Force)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Nearly 600 people turned up for a two-day sendoff celebration as the 18th Wing officially bid farewell to the F-15 Eagle.

The Air Force is replacing the aging tactical fighters at Kadena with rotating squadrons of more advanced warplanes. Some F-15s went to Air National Guard units in the United States or to the Air Force boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

Some F-15s remain on the base, but wing officials have declined to say how many, citing security concerns.

Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Ken Wilsbach returns from a flight in an F-15D Eagle at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, April 17, 2023. (Sebastian Romawac/U.S. Air Force)

The Kadena Eagle Sunset Celebration kicked off at 6:45 a.m. April 14 with a scramble golf tournament at the Banyan Tree Golf Course and ended the next day with an “air superiority” banquet at the Rocker Enlisted Club.

The festivities honored the Eagle, its pilots, intelligence personnel, maintainers and their families, who “directly contributed to the success of the fighter” over the 44 years it was stationed at the base, 18th Wing spokesman Staff Sgt. Juan Torres Chardon said in an email Friday.

Approximately 575 people attended, across all events, he said.

“Kadena-based F-15C/D Eagles have ensured air superiority for decades to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander, said in an April 19 news release.

As part of the farewell, Wilsbach, who commanded the 18th Wing from 2009 to 2011, flew an F-15D Eagle with the 67th Fighter Squadron.

“We owe the many men and women, past and present, who have flown, maintained and supported the F-15 for their invaluable contributions toward peace and safety in the region,” he said.

On Oct. 28, the Air Force announced plans to replace 48 Eagle fighters from the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons with rotating units of more advanced aircraft. About a dozen F-22 Raptor stealth fighters from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, arrived in early November and a dozen F-16CM Fighting Falcons arrived in January from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

The first rotation of Raptors and Falcons to Kadena have been replaced by other aircraft, Torres Chardon said.

Twelve F-35A Lightning II multirole fighters from the 355th Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, arrived March 28, a spokesman from Japan’s Ministry of Defense said by email March 31. Some government officials in Japan may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

They were joined April 8 by an unknown number of F-15E Strike Eagles from the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., according to an 18th Wing news release. Fourteen Strike Eagles arrived as part of that deployment, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on April 22.

The Air Force does not release the number of deployed aircraft due to operational security, Torres Chardon said.

A long-term replacement for the Eagle has not yet been named, Brig. Gen. David Eaglin told reporters at a press conference at Kadena on Friday.

“The Air Force is working on a plan for a permanent-party solution,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll come up with a decision soon.”

Kadena is an integral fighter base with proximity to Taiwan. It is home to approximately 8,000 airmen from the 18th Wing and 81 combat-ready aircraft that provide air superiority, aerial refueling and combat search and rescue, according to the wing website.