WASHINGTON – The crash of a Wisconsin Air Guard F16 is unlikely to affect the transition from F16s to F35s for the 115th Squadron at Truax Field near Madison, sources said. The first F35s joined the Air Force in 2015 as a replacement for F16s, which has been in the arsenal 42 years. So far aircraft manufacturer Lockheed has built 550 F35s. Lockheed had produced 4,600 F16s when production ceased in 2018. The Vermont Air Guard was the first Guard unit to receive F35s. In April the Ar Force announced that the next Guard units with F35s would be the115th at Truax Field in Wisconsin and the 187th at Dannelly Field in Alabama. Meanwhile, the Air Force will continue to fly a mix of fifth-generation and sixth-generation fighters into the 2040s. The Air Force has said the mix will meet combat requirements.
F16 profile
Mission: Air-to-air combat
Speed: Cruises at 550 mph;1,500 mph max
Engine: 15,000 pounds thrust
Range: 500 miles; refuelable in air to 2,600 miles
Weight: 20,000 pounds
Price: $18 million
Data vary among models
F35 profile
Mission: Air-to-air combat
Speed: Cruises at 650 mph;1,200 mph max
Engine: 43,000 pounds thrust
Range: 500 miles; refuelable in air to 2,600 miles
Weight: 28,000 pounds
Price: $80 million
Special feature: Marine variation can take off and land vertically on ships at sea.