There are fighters to patrol North American skies, but they are not F-15 Eagles, the mainstay of the homeland air defense effort, because those aircraft remain grounded. Scott Lindlaw of Associated Press reports that NORAD officials have plugged the gaps, but resources are spread thin. For instance, in California, the F-16s of the Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing are covering the entire West Coast, a first for a single state, according to the California Air Guard. The Oregon ANG F-15s would normally share the duty. The 144th FW has had to bolster its fleet with F-16s on loan from Arizona and Indiana.
CCA Contract Winners to be Announced Imminently
April 24, 2024
The Air Force is set to announce finalists for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1 competition, intended to lead to production of 1,000 to 2,000 autonomous combat drones.