US Air Force ground ageing F-15 fighter jets

by Clubtender Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:25 pm

As of yesterday the entire USAF fleet of F-15s have been grounded pending the investigation of an Air National Guard F-15C disintegrating in a training flight. The average age of F-15 airframes are 25 years old and they are all fatigued.

At 100 million + dollars a piece it is taking much longer than anticipated to replace the aging Eagle with new F-22 Raptors.

Since the Raptor is so damned expensive, I'm wondering if the Air Force shouldn't consider paring back it's F-22 order and adopt the F-18E and F-18F Super Hornet as a stop gap measure. The Super Bug is currently in production and less than half the price of a Raptor. It also uses the same engines as the F-15C. Since the USAF doesn't land on carriers, I have no doubt that the Air Force could strip a lot of weight off of the aircraft and turn it into a real "hotrod".

Okay guys, It's opinion time. What do you think? Should the Air Force suspend the F-22 contract and purchase the F-18E and F-18F? If Boeing can not produce enough of them to fill both A Navy and an Air Force contract, the Air Force Super Bugs could always be built under contract by Lockheed Martin which would prevent a massive job loss by a suspension of the F-22 program.

Could the Navy's Super Bug save the Air Force?

AFP wrote:WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Air Force has grounded all its F-15 fighter planes after an accident in Missouri triggered concerns about the ageing fleet, officials said Tuesday.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTePcGuilUfgMy5lurFyBEbo4O8Q

The decision comes after Japan on Sunday grounded its F-15 fleet after it was informed by US forces that an Air National Guard F-15 fighter jet had crashed.

"The cause of that accident is still under investigation," the US Air Force said in a statement.

"Preliminary findings indicate that a possible structural failure of the aircraft may have occurred. The suspension of flight operations is a precautionary measure."

The Air Force has more than 700 F-15s in its fleet. But until further notice, they will only be used for emergency missions in Iraq or Afghanistan, while F-16s will be used for all routine operations.

"They have some concerns about structural issues with the F-15 that went down," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

"The Air Force is looking at its operational requirements and where they have the newer aircraft and are making some of those available for missions while they take a look at the F-15 and see if they have a more systemic problem throughout the fleet," said Whitman.

"They will still be flying F-15 in support of troops and when there are no other aircraft available."

The plane that crashed on Friday was a 27-year-old F-15C built in Hazelwood, Missouri.

Around 500 of the total F-15 fleet are older models with an average age of around 25 years, Air Force spokesman Cristin Marposon told AFP....
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTePcGuilUfgMy5lurFyBEbo4O8Q

by GD2GO Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:05 pm

From a selfish standpoint I want the F22 contract to expand.
I live near the DFW area.

But in reality, we need to expand the JSF as well as build more FA18 super hornets and F16s.

But some of those F16s are getting up there in age as well . . .

by Clubtender Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:31 pm

iluvfreebeer wrote:From a selfish standpoint I want the F22 contract to expand.
I live near the DFW area.

But in reality, we need to expand the JSF as well as build more FA18 super hornets and F16s.

But some of those F16s are getting up there in age as well . . .

All of the F-16s and the F-18 A through D models are getting seriously long in the tooth as well. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that it would be a serious bitch to get the Air Force to go with the F-18E and F-18F.

by GD2GO Thu Nov 08, 2007 3:34 pm

Clubtender wrote:
iluvfreebeer wrote:From a selfish standpoint I want the F22 contract to expand.
I live near the DFW area.

But in reality, we need to expand the JSF as well as build more FA18 super hornets and F16s.

But some of those F16s are getting up there in age as well . . .

All of the F-16s and the F-18 A through D models are getting seriously long in the tooth as well. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that it would be a serious bitch to get the Air Force to go with the F-18E and F-18F.

I agree.
The AF wants it's own money to waste.
They don't like using a proven system to replace and old one.

by Clubtender Thu Nov 08, 2007 3:46 pm

iluvfreebeer wrote:I agree.
The AF wants it's own money to waste.
They don't like using a proven system to replace and old one.

Someone needs to take the Secretary of the Air Force to the Air Force Museum and show him the tail hook on the Air Force F-4 Phantom II.

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