A
Missouri Air National Guard pilot ejected, sustaining minor injuries, before his F-15C crashed about 125 miles south of St. Louis in a wooded area on Nov. 2, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The following day, the Air Force suspended all non- mission-critical F-15 flights pending the results of an accident investigation. A Nov. 4 USAF release indicates that preliminary findings point to a “possible structural failure.” The average age of the F-15s flown by the Air Guard is around 28 years; the average age for active duty F-15s is around 20 years, largely because the active force also flies the much younger E model. The Air Force does not specify whether it has restricted operations for all models.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.