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.
The Oregon Air National Guard was established on July 30, 1940 as the 123rd Observation Squadron and ordered into active duty September 15, 1941. The Oregon ANG 173rd FW, Kingsley Field AGB, Oregon decided to celebrate the 2016 “75th Anniversary” of the Oregon ANG call to active duty so work began to decorate F-15C 79-0041 with a very complicated and unique paint scheme. The aircraft was first displayed on April 3, 2016 at a change of command ceremony. The next month 79-0041 flew to Finland for the first “Sentry Lynx” exercise.