At a recent Congressional hearing, an official from the Air National Guard told Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina that America could replace the capabilities of the F-15 with upgraded F-16 jets.
This would incur some loss of the “unique” strike capabilities offered by the F-15s, but in the digital age, the US Air Force’s “system” has become more significant than any given aircraft going into action. In other words, the battlefield has changed, and the F-15 may soon become replaceable.
“As we get into the digital age,” Lt. General Scott Rice said, “the system will be more important than the platform itself.” The Pentagon has yet to reach a final decision on if and when the F-15 will fly its last mission.
“The F-15C served our nation well,” Major General Scott West commented, “as it have its pilots for decades.” Though it was once “our air superiority fighter,” West added, the F-22 Raptor “has taken that role.”
The service aims to find harmony between capability and capacity, Military.com reported.
”Capacity being, do we have … 1,900 to 2,000 fighters in our inventory? But at the same time, we also look at capability.”
With capability, Rice says proper radars and technical systems on each plane are crucial, so as the service upgrades technologically, the upgrade costs for the F-15 may become too high. “Certainly, an F-15 right now is a very capable platform,” but, “as we move into maintaining our capacity and keeping our capability, we have to address those needs.”
”It’s a bigger picture,” Rice said.
