The U.S. Air Force has begun conducting structural stress
assessments on its existing fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft in an
effort to assess the feasibility of continuing to fly the jets for
an additional 10 years. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norman
Schwartz confirmed the action is underway as a hedge against the
possible delay in the delivery of over 1,700 F-35 JSF aircraft.
In a speech to the Air Force Association, Schwartz said "I think
it's pretty clear that our strategy is to pursue service-life
extensions [SLEPs] to the extent that is affordable rather than
purchase new generation four-and-a-half aircraft while we're
working hard to bring on F-35," said Schwartz. "I do not think it
is wise to dissipate the limited pool of resources available for
F-35 by procuring less capable aircraft that will last as long" as
the new generation fighters.
Defense News reports that some members of Congress think the Air
Force should procure what are called 4.5 generation fighters (the
JSF is considered a 5th generation fighter) to prevent what they
see as a "fighter gap" between the end of the service life of the
current fleet and the availability of the F-35's. Those in-between
aircraft would be planes like the F-15 SE Silent Eagle or the Block
60 F-16.
Schwartz insists that it would not be prudent to spend limited
procurement dollars on anything other than the 5th generation
fighters. The Air Force plans to retire as many as 250 of the
longest-serving F-15 and F-16 fighters, as well as a few A-10
Thunderbolts over the next five years for a cost savings of about
$3.5 billion.
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]