Air Force to eliminate 280 fighter, cargo, and surveillance aircraft in next five years

AVIONICS INTELLIGENCE REPORT, 7 Feb. 2012. The U.S. Air Force plans to eliminate more than 280 military aircraft over the next five years, including 123 jet fighters, 133 cargo aircraft, and 30 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, reports Military & Aerospace Electronics Senior Editor Courtney Howard this week in the Avionics Intelligence video blog.

Aircraft to be stricken from the Air Force inventory will be 102 A-10 Thunderbolt ground-attack jets; 21 relatively old F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters; 27 C-5A Galaxy cargo jets; 65 C-130 Hercules cargo turboprop aircraft; 20 KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets; 21 C-27 Spartan twin-engine turboprops; 18 RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); 11 RC-26 Metroliner turboprops; and one E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint-STARS) aircraft that is damaged beyond repair.