National Guard Boss Warns of Potential ‘Critical’ Fighter Shortage
May 1, 2024 | By David Roza
The head of the National Guard warned that a shortage of fighter jets, pilots, and maintainers in the reserve components could leave the military short-handed in a possible conflict.
“We’ve got a 60 fighter squadron requirement,” across the Air Force, Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, said April 30 at a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing. “We have 25 of those in the National Guard, and our ability to retain that capability when we’re already short fighter pilots and maintainers will be critically important in the next coming years as we start to modernize our fleet.”
The Air Force is retiring several of the Guard’s aging A-10 and F-15C/D squadrons in an effort to fund modernization, but lawmakers worry there are not enough new replacement aircraft to make up the difference.
“I’m very concerned about the lack of, frankly, assets within the reserve components, especially on the Air National Guard side, to be that complementary force to the Active duty right now,” Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) said. “I think we’ve gotten below or are approaching below critical mass on some of the platforms that are being allocated to y’all.”
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-national-guard-fighter-shortage/
