“Of course, I’m a big fan of the Eagle, so it’s not difficult for me to get excited about seeing the first F-15EX flight! Seeing the F-15EX fly for the first time really left me thinking: ‘Wow! We are going to be flying that jet soon at Kingsley (Field ANGB), and it’s going to be awesome!’... We will be in a transition period over the next several years as we train F-15C pilots while also preparing for F-15EX; while this will be a challenging time, we know that we’ve got a fantastic community supporting us and an outstanding team here at the 173rd Fighter Wing.”
Source: Col. Jeff Edwards, 173rd FW commander, discussing the first flight of the F-15EX and what it portends for the Air Force