The Air National Guard currently has 10 units flying Block 30 F-16s that Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, ANG director, told lawmakers last week will age out by 2017. (See above, Air Guard Aircraft Crisis Nears) Those 10 units fly a total of roughly 180 fighters, said Wyatt. The Air Force now projects that the Total Force will have a fighter gap of some 135 aircraft around 2017; however, Wyatt noted, “The risk is greater for the Air National Guard,” because it “has a preponderance of the older airplanes.” He said the Air Guard continues to work with USAF to address the gap, considering a service life extension program (SLEP) for the older fighters but not purchase of so-called 4.5 generation aircraft. A SLEP would extend the legacy F-16s for another four to five years, said Wyatt, but he added that so far there’s no money on the table. Continue
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.