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A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing the Air Force to temporarily move fighters in its active-component units to Air National Guard and Reserve squadrons set to lose their aircraft.
These members of Congress say "fleet leveling" would prevent the nation from losing invaluable talent and experience along with these airframes.
In a Nov. 30 letter, 34 House representatives and 18 senators urged Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to consider this option as challenges mount at home and abroad.
"Absent intervention, the ANG is slated to lose two fighter missions in the next three years or will be forced to continue operating with older models," the group said.
"With that growing sense of urgency in mind, we request that you consider a stopgap measure to ensure there is no loss of Total Force fighter capability or combat capacity: fleet leveling," they added.
The Nov. 30 letter to Kendall was spearheaded by Reps. John James, R-Mich., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.
NGAUS supports the group's letter, and the association also considers modernizing and recapitalizing all of the fighters in the Guard’s fleet a legislative priority.
The Air Guard has 25 fighter squadrons, many of which fly aging airframes the Air Force plans to retire in the coming years. The service has identified follow-on fighters for some — but not all — of the units.
Absent replacement aircraft, the capabilities these units provide will disappear, the lawmakers wrote in their recent letter.
"It takes more than a decade to produce an experienced fighter pilot," they said. "Unlike the active component, closing [a Guard or Reserve] fighter squadron results in the permanent loss of hundreds of deeply experienced personnel. That experience, and the millions of taxpayer dollars invested to train them, are lost forever."
Many of the lawmakers who signed the letter to Kendall represent states or districts that would be impacted by airframe retirements.
For example, James’ district houses the 107th Fighter Squadron, which flies A-10 Thunderbolt IIs out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan.
The 107th’s A-10s are scheduled to retire in 2027, despite the Air Force not having named a replacement fighter for the squadron.
The 104th Fighter Squadron — stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Maryland — is the first Guard unit with A-10s slated for retirement. The Air Force plans on mothballing the squadron's Warthogs by 2025.
James and the letter’s other signatories argue fleet leveling will help the nation compete with near-peer competitors like China.
"As you are certainly aware, pilot and maintenance manning across the Air Force are both at alarmingly low levels," they told Kendall.
"Fleet leveling the fighter force will ensure that the experience resident in ANG and AFRC fighter squadrons remains accessible for our Nation’s defense in this decisive decade," the lawmakers wrote.
The Air Force is facing one of its toughest recruiting and retention environments in generations.
The service is also deciding how to phase out older airframes including the A-10, the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-15C Eagle.
Congress is working on the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense policy bill that’s considered must-pass legislation.
NGAUS recommends Congress include language in the fiscal 2024 NDAA requiring a plan for recapitalizing the Guard’s fighter squadrons from the secretary of defense.
Once conferees release a final version of the NDAA, both the House and Senate must pass it before President Joe Biden can consider signing it into law.
— By Mark Hensch
