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After deploying in March 2026, twelve ‘MO’ F-15E Strike Eagles touched down at RAF Lakenheath on Sep. 16 as they head back to the U.S., notably featuring an inventive collection of nose art. 

As we reported in February, F-15E Strike Eagles from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, were among the reinforcements that were dispatched towards the Middle East in the days leading up to what would eventually be announced as Operation Epic Fury. 

The 389th Fighter Squadron (FS) – part of the 366th Fighter Wing (FW) – jets arrived ‘downrange’ on Mar. 1, the day after Operation Epic Fury officially commenced. Joining other Strike Eagle units in CENTCOM, including a significant portion of Lakenheath’s own force, the 366th FW appear to have been operating from Ovda Air Base, Israel, for the duration of their deployment. 

TREND 11, 87-0204 “Guardian” | Source: Deaves Photography

One of their jets was pictured in an official U.S. Air Force release on Mar. 16, 2026, albeit with almost all identifying marks apparently having been digitally obscured. 

Upon their journey back through RAF Lakenheath, the squadron’s jets could be seen decorated with a notable variety of nose artworks following a theme of movie and TV references. 

TREND 11, 87-0204 “Guardian” | Source: Stewart Jack

Star Wars, Marvel, and Austin Powers made up the majority of references, with individual references also made to The Terminator and DC as well as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) legend The Undertaker. Only one jet, 87-0204 “Guardian”, appears to break with the theme (unless it is a reference not immediately apparent!). 

TREND 12, 87-0182 “Thanos”. | Source: Stewart Jack
TREND 12, 87-0182 “Thanos”. | Source: Stewart Jack

87-0182 “Thanos” features the tagline “Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives”, which is clearly taken from (though slightly different to) a line spoken by Josh Brolin as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Marked on the side of one of the U.S. Air Force’s most potent strike fighters, the line takes on a real element of omiousness.

TREND 13, 87-0207 “Darth Maul”. | Source: Stewart Jack
TREND 13, 87-0207 “Darth Maul”. | Source: Deaves Photography

Darth Maul, the fan-favorite Sith lord introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, was featured on the first of two jets carrying a Star Wars reference.

“Undertaker” arrived next, the sole WWE reference. Real name Mark William Calaway, The Undertaker was active in WWE events from 1987 until 2020 and is indisputably one of the most widely famous and popular characters to originate from the franchise. His commanding height of 6ft 10in and trademark funeral themed aesthetic earned him recognition far beyond just fans of professional wrestling. 

TREND 14, 87-0209 “Undertaker”. | Source: Stewart Jack

“Darth Maul” and “Undertaker” both feature a distinctive extra marking in red, which appears to be a representation of a cruise missile. It is very similar to previous markings noted on other 366th FW jets which are believed to denote operational launches of the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile), albeit colored red instead of black. As you can see from these older nose markings, pop culture references are a popular choice for the 366th FW’s nose artworks. 

TREND 15, 91-0330 “Goldmember”. | Source: Deaves Photography
TREND 15, 91-0330 “Goldmember”. | Source: Stewart Jack

91-0330 carried the first of four references to the Austin Powers trilogy, created by and starring Mike Myers in several lead roles including Goldmember as well as the character featured on the following jet. 

TREND 16, 91-0333 “Mr Fat Bastard”. | Source: Deaves Photography

91-0333 rounded off the first tranche of six jets, callsigns TREND 11-16. TREND 21-26 followed on as the second tranche, led by 87-0169 marked with Robert Patrick’s terrifying T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

TREND 21, 87-0169 “T-1000”. | Source: Stewart Jack
TREND 21, 87-0169 “T-1000”. | Source: Stewart Jack

TREND 22 carried the sole reference to the DC Comics universe, featuring Batman’s arch-nemesis the Joker. 

TREND 22, 88-1697 “Joker”. | Source: Deaves Photography

Next up, a reference to Marvel’s X-Men with “Fear Magneto”. This marking gives us perhaps the most clear hint at the squadron’s role while deployed to CENTCOM, with Magneto using his powers to defend against rockets/missiles. A defensive counter air (DCA) mission set would fit with the jets’ positioning further back from the frontlines in Israel, and also with the kill markings we’ve seen this time around.

Previous Strike Eagle deployments have seen jets return with dozens of bomb markings, while these jets feature simple tally markings. Each tally mark likely indicates a drone, missile, or other airborne threat to U.S. and allied positions downed by each jet. 

TREND 23, 89-0506 “Fear Magneto”. | Source: Stewart Jack

The ‘boss bird’, which carries the most visible markings and acts as a flagship jet for a squadron, sported a reference to Star Wars‘ iconic Darth Vader. It additionally carried fully painted travel pods (used for light personal cargo during fighter transits), with a red body and lightning graphics alongside ‘SHOCK EM’ written along the side. 

TREND 24, 88-1705 “Vader”. | Source: Deaves Photography
TREND 24, 88-1705 “Vader”. | Source: Stewart Jack

The final two jets were both references to Austin Powers – clearly there is a particular affinity for this franchise amongst the squadron’s personnel. 90-0253 was marked as “Mini-Me”, referencing Verne Troyer’s character, and 90-0248 was “Dr Evil”, another Mike Myers character. 

“Mini-Me” carries two of the red markings referenced earlier, which presumably denote AGM-158 JASSM missions.

TREND 25, 90-0253 “Mini-Me”. | Source: Stewart Jack
TREND 26, 90-0248 “Dr Evil”. | Source: Stewart Jack

Thank you to our friends Stewart Jack and Deaves Photography for contributing images and information for this article. Please check out their pages and give them a follow!