The US Air Force intends to reduce its fleet of fighter and attack aircraft from seven to four types. The F-22 Raptor will not be on the updated list, said the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Charles Brown, at the McAleese and Associates conference.
According to the general, his service will determine the correct combination of aircraft with the help of a special "TacAir study". In addition, it will be necessary to evaluate how the concept of future fighters fits into the current combination of fourth and fifth generation vehicles.
At the moment, the US Air Force operates seven models of fighters.
"I intend to reduce the number to four. It is important to understand how the combination of planes will be correct. The F-22 will be replaced by the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, which will fly alongside the F-35. In the ranks will be F-15EX and F-16, - quotes the words of Brown portal Military.com.
The chief of staff added that the operation of the A-10 Warthog attack aircraft will continue, the update of which will extend the service life until the 2030s, that is, in fact, the new fleet will be based on the "4+1"scheme.
According to the calculations of US military analysts, the United States Air Force has 186 units of the F-22 Raptor, the average age of which is 12 years, which makes these aircraft one of the most "fresh" in the air fleet.
As Lieutenant General David S. Nahom, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force Plans and Programs, stated at the same conference, the F-22 is currently the dominant American platform for air superiority. However, he admitted that the aircraft has a lot of problems in terms of operation.
"The flight crews and service personnel who maintain and repair the F-22 are simply amazing people, as it is extremely difficult to manage it and ensure normal operation," the officer said.
According to the publication Defense One, the "predators" were supposed to dominate the air battles, but did not meet the expectations. The US Air Force planned to create a fleet of 750 F-22 units, but in the end limited itself to only 187 aircraft, the last of which was delivered in 2012. The F-35 has become a more reliable and versatile fighter, and some of the tasks assigned to the F-22 were able to solve the updated F-15.
Timur Alimov
