{"id":51784,"date":"2022-01-31T19:26:26","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T19:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:43:11","slug":"eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/10\/25\/air-force-holds-week-of-f-15ex-tests-at-nellis\/\" target=\"_blank\">F-15EX Eagle II<\/a> \u2014 the latest version of the Air Force\u2019s fourth-generation fighter \u2014 fired a weapon for the first time last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fighter, part of the 40th Flight Test Squadron and flown by experimental test pilots Maj. Benjamin Naumann and Maj. Mark Smith, on Jan. 25 successfully fired an AIM-120D missile at a BQM-167 target drone over the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force said in a release Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The F-15EX, which was taking part in an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program known as Combat Archer, found the drone with its sensors, tracked it and fired the missile at it, the release said. The Air Force tracked the missile on its way to the drone, decided the test had been successful and cut the missile\u2019s flight short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis was an end-to-end verification of the entire weapons system, which will pave the way for more complex missile shots in the future,\u201d Colton Myers, the F-15EX test project manager with the operational flight program combined test force, said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-113618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The F-15EX Eagle II fires an AIM-120D missile during a Weapons System Evaluation Program mission near Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla, Jan. 25, 2022.  This was the first live fire performed from the Air Force\u2019s newest aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. John Raven\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force said the successful missile release followed six months of integrated developmental and operational flight testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was also Naumann\u2019s first missile shot. The Combat Archer evaluation program often gives pilots the opportunity for their first live fire, the Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naumann said verifying the F-15EX is capable of live-firing missiles \u201cis another step towards fielding the aircraft to combat units.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first two F-15EXs, tail numbers 001 and 002, arrived at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida last March and April, and since then have taken part in a series of tests and evaluations. Last May, the fighters deployed to Alaska for the Northern Edge joint training exercise, where the Air Force studied how well it can perform when its GPS, radar and other systems face jamming threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These survivability tests helped the Air Force find and fix problems with the fighter\u2019s Suite 9 software system, the Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And in October, the F-15EXs took part in a weeklong operational test at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where they flew alongside F-15Cs and Es and tested its Eagle Passive\/Active Warning and Survivability System, or EPAWSS, electronic warfare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Myers said in the release the October exercise showed the F-15EX \u201cstill needs more development,\u201d but that the fighter is capable of taking on its air dominance role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-51784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G4P6NVCO5NDOHDW6VGA35R4GJ4","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 462,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/31\\\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"air\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test - Defense News","description":"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test","og_description":"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00","author":"Stephen Losey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Losey","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test","datePublished":"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/"},"wordCount":462,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Daily News Roundup","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/","name":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2022-01-31T19:26:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:43:11+00:00","description":"The test pilot who fired the missile called it another step towards getting the F-15EX ready for combat.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/01\/31\/eagle-ii-gets-its-claws-f-15ex-fires-first-missile-in-gulf-of-mexico-test\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Warfare","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/","ad_zone":"air"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Eagle II gets its claws: F-15EX fires first missile in Gulf of Mexico test"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-15EX-first-missile-fire.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51791,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51784\/revisions\/51791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51784"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=51784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}