A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon - the U.S. Air Force may write off 132 aircraft

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 18.06.2024, 20:35
A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon - the U.S. Air Force may write off 132 aircraft

The US Air Force may get rid of more than a hundred military aircraft next year. This is stated in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).

Earlier we wrote that the NDAA assumes the purchase of 42 fighters of the fifth generation F-35A Lightning II for the US Air Force. Along with this, the military service will have the opportunity to abandon 132 older fighters and attack aircraft.

If the NDAA is approved, the U.S. Air Force will retire another batch of A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in fiscal year 2025. Thus, 56 legendary attack aircraft will be retired. They will be followed by 65 fourth-generation F-15C/D Eagle fighters and 11 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

Also of note is the controversy over the decommissioning of the E-3 Sentry. The U.S. Air Force is ready to abandon the old long-range radar detection aircraft and wait for the E-7 Wedgetail to appear. Nevertheless, lawmakers obliged the service to keep 16 AWACS aircraft in service.