The USAF has been trying any means possible to keep the F-22 production line open.

This time, it is using the structural problems of the F-15 to do so.

Let’s be clear, this is a serious issue, but the USAF permanently grounding 180 aircraft is unnecessary.

It appears that the problem is the result of two things, the age of the airframe, and the fact that some of the longerons are defective.

That being said, the USAF personnel running around crying that the sky is falling, and so you get quotes like this:

“Do you try to patch a 25-year-old airplane that has been patched and patched and patched?” another senior Air Force official asked. “After the repairs, it will not be the same aircraft it was before.”

The answer, of course, is that it will be the same aircraft as before. The repairs are not cheap, my guess would be on the order of $200,000 to $300,000 per aircraft, and with a weight hit of somewhere between 50 and 100 kg.

Compared to something north of $150,000,000 for an F-22, it is an inexpensive solution.

One of the things that USAF is studiously quiet about is the fact that the F-15 is a superior platform for the interception of cruise missiles, because it has a larger antenna for its radar (Physics is a bitch, ain’t it).