The McDonnell Douglas F-4 was the main multipurpose aircraft for the US Military for 20 years. The F-4E variant was an improved version of the C/D with an elongated nose and compact radar. These two things made it possible to install a 20mm M61A1 6 barrel 640 round Vulcan gun pod in the nose. The F-4E was the most produced variant with 1387 aircraft being made over its 12 year production period. The "E" also equipped more air forces than any other variant of the Phantom II.

Due to delays with the F-111 the RAAF leased 24 F-4Es from the USAF. Phantom II 69-0307 c/n 3851 took its maiden flight on June 29, 1970 and arrived at RAAF Amberley 82 Wing No. 6 Squadron in late September 1970. The aircraft was assigned an RAAF A-69 number for admin purposes but only the USAF registration appeared on the aircraft. On June 6, 1973 the aircraft was returned to the USAF and converted to an F-4G "Wild Weasel" serving in Vietnam before being converted to a QF-4G drone (AF-134) and destroyed June 11, 1997.