Google Earth F15's

[Snoop 95]

Just been looking at the current image of Lakenheath, which is dated13.06.2023 and it shows a line-up of 31 F15's on the South ramp. Seems unusual to me as I thought that they are normally in their HAS's. Also a C17 on the North side plus 5 f35's and two f15's on the taxiways.
Was this some special occasion?

[POL]

F-15Es normally park on the two ramps from my (albeit limited) experience, I wonder if the sun shelters were still being built so both squadrons were displaced onto one ramp.

Otherwise it just looks like a normal day of possibly 06 ops to me, with a visitor in!

[blacksplat]

I see eight F-35 and 32 F-15. What a line-up!

[Starbuck]

Just been looking at the current image of Lakenheath, which is dated13.06.2023 and it shows a line-up of 31 F15's on the South ramp. Seems unusual to me as I thought that they are normally in their HAS's. Also a C17 on the North side plus 5 f35's and two f15's on the taxiways.
Was this some special occasion?

No, the F-15s normally are parked on the ramp just on front of the SEC building.

No special occasion, just looks like another normal day for the heath, just looks like the 35s have got going before the F-15s have.

[Starbuck]

F-15Es normally park on the two ramps from my (albeit limited) experience, I wonder if the sun shelters were still being built so both squadrons were displaced onto one ramp.

Otherwise it just looks like a normal day of possibly 06 ops to me, with a visitor in!

They moved to the ramp just in front of the SEC building when the sun shelter building for the F-35s got underway and the F-15 ramp got extended.

[Snoop 95]

So the HAS's are now redundant? From what I hear they are very difficult to demolish - for obvious reasons!

[Alf]

So the HAS's are now redundant? From what I hear they are very difficult to demolish - for obvious reasons!

Thought they were very much still in use for F-15 and F-35.. and the TDY Hawks and A-4s?

[Andy Marden]

The two mentioned ramps don't have enough room for all of the Lakenheath fleet, so clearly some of them are parked in shelters.
It's just much easier to operate from a flightline.

[Starbuck]

So the HAS's are now redundant? From what I hear they are very difficult to demolish - for obvious reasons!

No they're not, most are slowly getting refurbed.

[Starbuck]

The two mentioned ramps don't have enough room for all of the Lakenheath fleet, so clearly some of them are parked in shelters.
It's just much easier to operate from a flightline.

The shelter ones tend to be more for doing maintenance but of course some will launch from them.

[Vulture 01]

Please remember that the HAS's were built in the 1980's to protect the jets from nasty things that Red Air might throw at them. Whilst a sun shield will stop things getting too hot, it won't stop a bomb. As Starbuck mentions above, USAFE are slowly refurbishing the current shelters. The other good thing with a shelter is that, once the doors are shut, an enemy doesn't know if there is a jet inside or not, complicating their targeting plans.

As a final thought, judging by the current world situation, maybe they should be building more, not knocking down the ones they already have!

[sschofield]

I assume any shelter refurbs will include those with "vaults" (WSSS) built into the floor to house B61s, since it appears to be the world's worst kept secret that Lakenheath will be getting Mark 12s? Or maybe has already started getting them delivered.