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ANG thinking of retiring F-15C/Ds; replace homeland defense with F-16s

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Lawmakers at a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing on Mar. 22 were told by Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, director of the Air National Guard, about plans to retire its 236 F-15C/Ds to save costs.

18th Wing Commander, Brigadier General Gary North, flies lead in a F-15D Eagle with his wingman Captain Michael Casey, (F-15C), from the 44th Fighter Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan, along with two F-16 010713-f-ZS275-001
By MSGT Marvin Krause, USAF [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Rice added that the service plans to replace those retired aircraft with upgraded F-16s.

Rep. Martha McSally, a former A-10 pilot, immediately questioned the move as the F-16 does not have the same air-to-air capabilities as the F-15.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek later clarified that the move is still under consideration.

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One thought on “ANG thinking of retiring F-15C/Ds; replace homeland defense with F-16s”

  1. Follow the money, LM is moving the production of F-16’s from Ft Worth to Greenville SC. The main folks talking this up are SC congressmen.

    As an old Eagle Keeper I can tell you the F-16 is unsuitable for a number of reasons, such as no legs, limited radar even with the proposed AESA and single engine for long over water intercepts.

    The AF should keep focused on the golden eagle program to at least give us some decent Air To Air capability to work with the few F-22’s

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