After Decades of Homeland Defense, Barnes ANG Base Bids Farewell to F-15s

U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s final three remaining F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft’s era on the frontlines of homeland defense.

For 18 years, F-15Cs have scrambled from Barnes, serving as the fangs of North American Aerospace Defense Command’s early-warning response to airborne threats against the northeastern United States.

Air Force 1st Lt. Kyle “Nuke” Eckert, of the 131st Fighter Squadron, part of the 104th Fighter Wing, flew one of the F-15Cs on its final flight to Davis-Monthan’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, the Boneyard’s official name.

“It was a bittersweet moment being able to be the last F-15 to take off out of Barnes and officially close that chapter for us was a very surreal and special feeling for sure,” Nuke said in an Air Force statement.

104th Fighter Wing commander Col. David “Moon” Halasi-Kun and 1st Lt. Eric “Gronk” Flynn of the wing’s 131st Fighter Squadron piloted the other two Eagles. 

Both Nuke and Gronk plan to become certified to fly the F-35A Lightning II to prepare for the 20 F-35s slated to arrive at the 104th Fighter Wing next summer, said Nuke, adding that the skies over Westfield, Mass., “will be quiet for a while, but we’ll be back in no time.”

The Air Force had originally planned to phase out its fleet of F-15C/Ds in fiscal 2026, but service officials said earlier this month that a limited number of the venerable fighters would be extended through 2030. Air Force officials say the F-15C/D fleet is being retired because more than 75 percent of the aircraft are limited in either the amount of G-loading they can withstand or the speed at which they are allowed to fly.

The 104th has sent 37 Eagles to the Boneyard, the largest aircraft storage facility in the world. The site hosts thousands of retired military aircraft, which are recycled for spare parts. The F-15C was the second-longest-serving aircraft at Barnes, surpassed only by the A-10 Thunderbolt II’s 30-year reign.

The F-15Cs from Barnes supported overseas operations as well as protecting a quarter of the nation’s population in its short-notice alert mission for NORAD.

In a 2023 iteration of the joint U.S.-Canadian exercise air defense dubbed Noble Defender, participants were tasked to defend against a simulated bomber attack, and F-15Cs from Barnes joined Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighters and other NATO fighter aircraft to intercept two American B-1B Lancers flying from Europe to defend the eastern approach of North America from simulated cruise missile threats.