Meanwhile, Air Force leaders continue to press Congress to allow the service to manage its own inventory of aircraft, saying that without that control the service faces “risk” in its ability to meet future requirements. In a statement to the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, noted that 14 percent of its aircraft are “either grounded or operating under mission-limiting flight restrictions.” They asserted that “current legislative restrictions” would cost the service “up to $1.7 billion annually through 2013.”
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.