354th Fighter Wing Replaces 40-Year Old Aircraft with Updated 35-Year Old Aircraft
The 354th Fighter Wing accepted delivery of its first pair of F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Alabama Air National Guard. A trickle of the aircraft will make their way up to Alaska's Eielson AFB throughout the year, replacing fighters assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron. While the jets are 'new' to the unit up north, they're still fairly aged when stacked against the roster of 5th generation aircraft they face down as aggressors. Each year, Red Flag and Northern Edge frequently pit the F-16s against F-22s and F-35s, nemeses the older block Falcons can struggle to compete against without sufficient modernization.
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