The Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Fighter Wing at Great Falls has a spokesman talking with area residents, trying to respond to their concerns about the unit’s switch from F-16s to F-15s. The Great Falls Tribune reports that the word is more noise, but not significantly more. The arrival of the first F-15s is about a year off, but apparently area residents are voicing their concerns now that the two-engine F-15 will make twice the noise of the single-engine F-16. Not so, says Maj. Rick Anderson, an ANG public affairs officer. He says, “The F-15 will be somewhat louder, but no where near twice as noisy.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.