Department of Defense

The Hawaii Air National Guard diligently planned and executed the final steps for an aircraft conversion in fiscal year 1987. The F-15A Eagle aircraft will replace the F-4C Phantom jet fighters. This conversion will represent a quantum leap forward in the air defense of the State.

– 1986 Annual Report pp. 1

Within the past year, through the combined efforts of the Headquarters, Hawaii Air National Guard, Pacific Air Force, and the National Guard Bureau, the acquisition of the F-lSA Eagle aircraft to replace the aging F-4C Phantom aircraft became a long awaited reality. On February 1986 the United States Air Force officially announced that the Hawaii Air National Guard will begin receiving the F-lSA Eagle aircraft in March 1987.

– 1986 Annual Report pp. 11

June 14, 1986 initiated the closing of a very historical chapter in the annals of the Hawaii Air National Guard. The return landings of eight F-4C aircraft from the air combat exercise Red Flag at Nellis AFB, Nevada, marked the end of the last deployment in the Phantom. With the expected arrival of the F-15 Eagle next fiscal year and the final phase out of the F-4C, an era will come to an end. Although Hawaii Air National Guard’s Phantoms are close to being 23 years old and by most 1980 standards, out-dated, the aircraft can still perform well in the air combat arena when flown by experienced and well-trained aircrews as was proven by the recent deployment to Red Flag.

– 1986 Annual Report pp. 13

The Hawaii Air National Guard marked its 40th Anniversary on September 10, 1986 and announced its conversion to the F-15 Eagle in February 1987. The conversion represented a quantum leap forward in the air defense of Hawaii.

– 1987 Annual Report pp. 1

The conversion from the F-4C Phantom to the F-15 Eagle aircraft was the centerpiece of a momentous year for the 154th Composite Group. In February 1987, the first four pilots entered upgrade training at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, and on March 11, 1987, the first two of 26 F-15 Eagles arrived at the 154th Composite Group, Hickam AFB. By the end of May 1987, training missions were being flown in the F-15 by pilots of the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 199th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

– 1987 Annual Report pp. 11

The Hawaii Air National Guard completed its conversion to the F-15 Eagle ahead of schedule and reassumed the full-time air defense alert mission for Hawaii.

– 1988 Annual Report pp. 1

Fiscal Year 1988 brought many milestones for the 154th Composite Group as the conversion to the F-15 Eagle was completed ahead of schedule on June 22, 1988. Sept. 1, 1987 marked the last scramble of the 154th Composite Group’s F-4C Phantoms, as the F-15 Eagles assumed the air defense mission for the State of Hawaii.

– 1988 Annual Report pp. 10