Yesterday I was reviewing footage I recorded on 24 April 2023 of a KC-46 tanker that flew over Harris County (actually there were two tankers but I missed the first one). Somehow I missed seeing this until yesterday – there was an F-15E flying off the right wing of the tanker!
The first half of the video shows the original 4K recording resized to 1080p. The second half is cropped at 1080p and then resized to 95%. It has been enhanced with image stabilization.
BACKY Flight Review
BACKY 11-12 were KC-46 Pegasus tankers from the 77th Aerial Refueling Squadron at Seymour-Johnson AFB in North Carolina. They flew down to warning area W-155 adjacent to Eglin AFB in the Gulf of Mexico, held there for ~45 minutes, then returned to Seymour-Johnson via a more southern route. I do not know how many F-15Es they had in tow but I am guessing they were from the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour-Johnson.
This enhanced view of the F-15E shows it was carrying ordnance but no external fuel tanks. This would explain the need for tanker support. On the left wing (right as seen in the video) there appears to be an AIM-9 missile. On the right wing is a much larger missile, maybe an AIM-120 or an AGM-88?
Assuming the F-15E(s) came back with the tankers, this would seem to indicate this was a sortie down to the restricted areas at Eglin or the offshore warning areas.