As if the
airlift numbers weren’t sobering enough, USAF says that the typical ANG F-16 squadron today has 15 fighters. The optimum number is 24, or, in the case of experienced ANG forces, 18 per squadron. Eighteen would ensure there are sufficient fighters to perform a given mission. Unless ANG redistributes airframes among fewer units, normal aircraft attrition will take the number of F-16s per ANG squadron in 2017 down to 6.3. Again, says the Air Force, very inefficient.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.


