The Verm
ont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing has picked up the air defense alert mission for the northeast, replacing the Massachusetts ANG’s 102nd Fighter Wing earlier than expected because of the grounding of the F-15 fleet, reports the Burlington Free Press. The F-16s of the Vermont Air Guard were to maintain the alert mission during the relocation of F-15s from the 102nd FW at Cape Cod to the 104th FW in western Massachusetts. The 104th FW is transitioning from A-10s to F-15s so would not be able to handle the alert mission for at least a year.
The Air Force wants more companies able to produce its new, multi-use, anti-radar missile that one expert says will prove vital in any future peer conflict and would be in high demand for the war in Iran if stocks were available now.