Oldest Air Force in History Asked to Do More than Ever Before

Mackenzie Eaglen / February 01, 2010

We’ve all heard the statistics that many of the U.S. Air Force’s young pilots fly the same planes their fathers and grandfathers flew in Vietnam. They were once cutting edge but now are old, worn out, and technologically dated.

Now it’s time to for Congress to do something about the problem of declining air power capabilities.

The Air Force has invested billions to service and upgrade ever-aging fighter, cargo, and lift platforms, however, there are doubts about how long these aircraft can be maintained. Just over two years ago, an F-15/D fighter broke apart into pieces in the sky due to structural strain–serving to remind us of the dangerous consequences of under-investment in new airframes.

As old planes fall out of service due to wear and tear or are retired, U.S. fighter aircraft inventories will fall far below the numbers identified by the Air Force as being necessary to meet the nation’s demands. The pace of new aircraft purchases is too slow to bridge the fighter gap, as the Heritage Foundation highlights in a chart book on “The State of the Military.” (more…)