The Air Force is weighing replacing the F-15C/Ds it currently uses for the air superiority mission with F-16s, according to a key officer.
Air Force Director of Current Operations and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Maj. Gen. Scott West told a House panel Wednesday the idea was not official, but pre-decisional, as a number of options are being considered. West said this would reduce the number of different systems the Air Force has to sustain and operate.
West told the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee the mulled retirement of F-15C/Ds was being discussed as part of planning choices for 2019. U.S. Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said one of these options included retiring the F-15Cs and replacing them with F-16s featuring upgraded active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars.
The F-15 is produced by Boeing [BA] while the F-16 is built by Lockheed Martin [LMT]. Lockheed Martin declined to comment on the record for this story. Boeing said it wouldn’t be able to respond to a request for comment by press time Monday.
There are 1,017 F-16C/Ds in the total force, according to the Air Force. The Air Force and Air National Guard, as of late 2015, have 200 F-15s (Defense Daily; Sept. 15, 2015).