The 461st was reactivated on 1 July 1977 at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle, conducting fighter aircraft aircrew training for pilots. The improved F-15C/D model arrived in 1982 for pilot training. In 1985 the Air Force consolidated the 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron with the World War II 361st Fighter Squadron, giving the squadron a combat heritage and lineage.
In the late 1980s, the F-15E Strike Eagle dual-role version of the F-15C arrived at Luke. The 461st received the first new F‑15E on 12 April 1988. The squadron continued to gain aircraft and the first F‑15E transition class graduated on 24 February 1989. Once qualified, the crews were reassigned to an operational squadron at the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. It was inactivated on 5 August 1994 as part of the phase-down of F-15 training at Luke.