Posted on 04/18/2026 5:05:28 AM PDT by daniel1212
Leaders of the Air National Guard argued that the Air Force's readiness was woefully inadequate...
"The United States Air Force is the oldest, the smallest, and the least ready in its 78-year history," the letter, which was obtained by Air and Space Forces Magazine, read.
To rectify the historic deficiency, military leaders are requesting between 72 and 100 new fighter jets across the Air Force's active duty, reserve and guard corps.
Specifically, the adjutants generals — the leader of the National Guard in their respective state — are requesting at least 48 new F-35s and 24 new F-15EXs.
The letter also states a desired goal of procuring 72 new F-35s and 36 new F-15EXs every year.
It was signed by all 22 adjutant generals..
"What we’re trying to do with this is send a strong message from the two-star generals that command the National Guards in these states," he told Air and Space Forces.
Smith pointed to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.'s sprawling military campaign in Iran, as showcasing the need for more jets and resources.
"We are burning these jets and the Airmen over time to support the joint force to accomplish the president’s goals with Epic Fury in this conflict with Iran," he told the magazine.
The Air Force asked Congress to procure 48 F-35s in 2024 and 42 in 2025. For F-15EXs, they asked for 24 in 2024 and 18 in 2025..
"If we keep dabbling under 72, that isn’t winning, that is raising the water line," Smith told the outlet. "If we don’t procure at a higher rate, all of these fighter squadrons will remain with ’70s-era fighters. Most of the money will go to keep them flying. In a few years, they’ll be struggling to be flyable, let alone be relevant."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
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News reports of its success. Reports from others on this forum who know veterans that have flown the aircraft.
Do you have bases for another opinion?
$10 billion for counter drone measures or drones that kill other drones would be better.
Let the Russians, Europeans, Indians, Middle East Muslims and the Chinese make attack drones (so early 2020s) that we can easily sweep from the skies.
It seems as though the Iranian Navy has nothing remotely modern.
No, I was just asking because you said it was the best aircraft ever. Good at ground support but a Russian MIG 17 would blow an A 10 out of the sky. To my knowledge, it’s never been used anywhere that we didn’t have total control of the air.
Using a fighter jet worth $100 million to take out a $5,000 drone isn’t cost effective. Expensive equipment doesn’t win wars... Lots and lots of money wins wars.
You guys buy this crap....defence industry like big Agra, big tech.... Parasites
Not offshore, no.
When it came ashore, one was promptly shot down by one guy with a MANPAD.
Number of A-10s in Mothball Storage:
As of the latest public data, around 50 A-10A Thunderbolt IIs and 107 A-10C Thunderbolt IIs are in storage at the U.S. Air Force’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base “Boneyard”
I’ll go you one better: the AC-130J Ghostrider and previous versions. Better weapons, more weapons, more loiter time, more effective.
True. And as we've seen with Jeffrey Epstein, blackmail also wins wars.
Let’s not forget, Epstein besides a sex trafficker was also an arms dealer .
A despicable bastard through and through .
Lots of money moves by Jeff to facilitate arms sales.
The unmanned version of the A-10 was supposed to be a variant of the MQ-9 Reaper. There were two prototypes made with turbofan engines instead of turboprop engines.
I've often wondered just how do-able that would be. I suspect it would not be very do-able and that we'd be better off to put the money into new planes. Maybe a few that have been put there recently could be revived.
It’s funny how Ask became a noun. “That’s a big axe” “Oh, you like it?”
“The A-10 is the most effective combat aircraft in the US armed services in my opinion.”
Ludicrous.
And I would like a new car every year. Is that too much to ask?
Nope, you are misreading what I said.
I said "The A-10 is the most effective combat aircraft in the US armed services in my opinion".
It is the best plane in service today at its job.
Other planes have other jobs.
I don't think I could ever make a guess as to the GOAT combat aircraft.
If I forced to I would pick the B52 simply based on years in service and survivability.
Wanting planes is one thing, having trained pilots for them is another.
More accurate is the following:
The A-10 is the most effective combat close air support combat aircraft in the US armed services in my opinion.
My son was army on the ground in Iraq as a combat medic. They loved the A-10 and the Apache. They knew if things got bad the A-10 or Apache would be there for them.
The maintenance division there routinely activates aircraft to be placed back into service. A few years back a B-52 crashed, total loss. They pulled an H model out of deep storage and reactivated it to take the crashed planes place.
CC
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