Hobby Master 1/72 HA4506 Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0487, 335th FS, 4th FW, Bagram AB, Afghanistan, Jan 2012

In 1967 the U.S. became aware of the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat. This made it necessary to develop a new aircraft to counter the MiG-25. The USAF rejected the USN F-14 Tomcat and issued its own requirements. The solution came in the form of the McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle. The F-15A made its inaugural flight in July 1972 and in January 1976 the first Eagle entered service. The "E" entered service in 1989. The F-15 was the first dedicated USAF air superiority fighter since the F-86 Sabre.

Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 89-0487 c/n 1134/E109 was built as the 109th F-15E and was delivered to the 335th Chiefs/4th TFW on November 13, 1990. A veteran of the 1991 Gulf War it is the only F-15E to have an air-to-air kill when it dropped a 2,000-lb GBU-10 Laser Guided Bomb on an Mi-24 Hind vaporizing it. The aircraft took part in Desert Storm, Deliberate Guard, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. On January 13, 2012 89-0487 became the first F-15E to log 10,000 flight hours.