"They are outdated": The US Air Force is decommissioning F-16 fighters

The operation of F-16 fighters in the United States is coming to an end, experts from the American magazine The National Interest write. This, according to them, is evidenced by the cessation of work with this type of aircraft at the US Air Force Luke base. Pravda.Ru publishes the translation.

The US Air Force is decommissioning its oldest F-16 Fighting Falcons, but will operate newer Block 40 and Block 50 models at least until the early 2040s, constantly upgrading them to maintain combat effectiveness. Although the US Air Force does not acquire new F-16 fighters, Lockheed Martin continues to produce improved versions for international customers, and their production is expected to last until the end of the decade.

September 20, 2024 Luke Air Force Base in Arizona has completed the graduate course of F-16 pilots, completing almost five decades of its work as a training center for aircraft. Now the base will focus exclusively on training F-35A Lightning II pilots, and future F-16 pilots will be trained at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

"This is more of a transition period, you know that fighter training does not stop, the 309 Fighter Squadron is not going anywhere, we are just switching to the F-35, and this is more of an upgrade than a completion," said Lieutenant Colonel Mike Ress.

As of July 2023, there were 935 active F-16 Fighting Falcons in the US Air Force fighter fleet. The aircraft made its first flight in January 1974, and on August 17, 1978, it officially entered service.

As EADaily reported, by the end of the year Ukraine should receive about 20 F-16 aircraft from the allied countries. However, according to retired US Army Major General Gordon "Skip" Davis, although American fighters are the most advanced in the Ukrainian fleet, the best Russian fighters still outperform them.