Strike Eagle- Flying The F — 15e In The Gulf War -the Warriors-

When the U.S. Air Force unleashed the F-15E Strike Eagle in the 1991 Gulf War, it wasn’t just deploying a new aircraft — it was introducing a revolutionary concept: deep interdiction , day or night, in any weather. The men who flew it called themselves “Warriors,” and their stories from the desert skies remain legendary. The Birth of the Mud Hen The F-15E was born from the need to replace the F-111 Aardvark. Unlike the air-superiority F-15C, the Strike Eagle was built to fight heavy — carrying up to 24,000 lbs of precision munitions, fuel tanks, and a full suite of night/all-weather sensors. Its two-person crew (pilot and Weapon Systems Officer, or WSO) worked as a lethal team: the pilot flew low-and-fast while the WSO navigated via terrain-following radar and targeted with LANTIRN pods.

On February 18, Captains Rick “Spike” Johnson and Dan “Chico” Sasse spotted a SCUD launcher near Al-Qaim. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, they rolled in, dropped CBU-87 cluster bombs, and destroyed the launcher. For that action, they received the Silver Star. Every Strike Eagle crew emphasizes one thing: trust . The pilot flies through enemy fire while the WSO works sensors, radios, and weapons. Maj. Steve “Pants” Turner (336th FS) described it simply: “In the F-15E, you don’t have a backseater. You have a partner. If your WSO says ‘pull up,’ you pull up. No questions.” That bond was tested constantly. Missions lasted 6–8 hours, often with air-to-air refueling over hostile territory. Crews wore adult diapers, ate liquid rations, and slept on cots between sorties. Yet morale stayed high — fueled by rivalry with the F-16 and A-10 guys, and pride in their “Mud Hen.” The Highway of Death On the last night of the war (February 27–28, 1991), F-15Es joined the infamous attack on Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait along Highway 80. While controversial in hindsight, for the crews it was simply a legitimate military target. WSO Maj. Derek “D-Rock” O’Malley recalled: “We saw headlights for miles. It was a tactical victory — but emotionally complex. Still, we had a job: stop the Republican Guard from escaping to fight another day.” Strike Eagles dropped laser-guided bombs and Rockeye cluster munitions, turning the highway into a graveyard of burned vehicles. The Cost and Glory No F-15E was lost to enemy fire during the Gulf War — a stunning testament to the jet’s durability and the crews’ skill. However, one Strike Eagle crashed on a training mission after the ceasefire, killing both crew members. When the U

By January 1991, the 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons (the “Chiefs” and “Rocketeers”) had deployed to Seeb Air Base in Oman, then forward to Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. They were untested in combat — but ready. The war began on January 17, 1991. Strike Eagles launched as part of “Package Q” — a complex strike against Iraqi SCUD scuds and airfields. Capt. Tim “Mac” McMahan and his WSO, Capt. John “B.O.” Bolyard, flew one of the first missions. “We went in at 200 feet, night, no moon, IP glow only. The terrain-following radar was our eyes. You had to trust it — or die.” Their target: a hardened aircraft shelter. Bolyard used the LANTIRN pod to lock the target, and McMahan pickled a GBU-10 Paveway II. The explosion lit up the Iraqi desert. That night, F-15Es destroyed more than a dozen targets without a single loss. The SCUD Hunters One of the most dangerous missions was the hunt for mobile SCUD missiles. Iraqi launchers would fire, then hide under bridges or in highway overpasses. Strike Eagles flew “SCUD-hunting” sorties — often called Wild Weasel without the decoys — searching with FLIR at low altitude, vulnerable to AAA and shoulder-fired SAMs. The Birth of the Mud Hen The F-15E

By war’s end, F-15Es had flown over 2,200 sorties, dropped more than 4 million pounds of ordnance, and destroyed 48 hardened aircraft shelters, 12 SCUD launchers, and countless tanks and artillery pieces. The Gulf War proved the Strike Eagle concept: a dual-role fighter-bomber that could fight for air superiority then strike deep with precision. The tactics, technology, and warrior mindset honed in 1991 laid the foundation for F-15E operations in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. On February 18, Captains Rick “Spike” Johnson and