The oldest flying F-16 in the Air Force‘s fleet that currently resides with the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing will be spared the boneyard once it is retired later this year and instead will be placed on static display in Vermont to honor those who flew and maintained it. WCAX, a TV news station out of Burlington, Vt., reported May 23 that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who intervened on its behalf in April, has received assurances of this from USAF. WCAX reported that the airplane, dubbed Lethal Lady, will be displayed either outside the entrance to the unit’s base in South Burlington or at the entrance to the state’s National Guard headquarters at Camp Johnson in Colchester. Lethal Lady entered the record books in March by becoming the first F-16C ever to eclipse 7,000 flight hours. The airplane, with serial number 83-1165, rolled off of the production line in 1983. It joined the Vermont Guard in 1994.
Sticker Shock Drags Out USAF’s E-7 Negotiations with Boeing
April 18, 2024
While a deal on the E-7 Wedgetail airborne battle management jet may come soon, negotiations are stuck on the high price Boeing is asking for the development jets, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said recently.