USAF The Air Force loaded an F-15E fighter jet with twice as many cruise missiles as it normally carries. The load test was part of a proof-of-concept known as Project Strike Rodeo. The idea is that fighters able to self-escort could be used to conduct heavy bomber missions. The US Air Force is looking at the possibility of using fighter jets armed with both air-to-air missiles and a heavy loadout of stand-off cruise missiles as heavy bomber aircraft able to self-escort in contested airspace and conduct devastating missile strikes. This week, the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base armed an F-15E Strike Eagle with five AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs), more than twice what the plane would normally carry.