Equipping the Guard
Air National Guard
A-10 Thunderbolt II
DESCRIPTION: Close-air support fighter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Fairchild Republic Company
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1976
- BASIC VARIANT: A-10C
- GUARD USAGE: The Guard operates 84 A-10s across wings in Idaho (124th Fighter Wing), Indiana (122nd Fighter Wing), Maryland (175th Wing) and Michigan (127th Wing). They account for 40% of the Air Force’s A-10 fleet, but are on average 41 years old. All have seen action overseas in recent years.
- UPDATE: Despite failing several times before to retire the entire A-10 fleet, the Air Force is trying again, and this time, Congress may go along. The final target is 2028, but the effort would begin next year. The president’s fiscal 2023 budget request would divest the 21 operated by the 122nd Fighter Wing, which would convert to the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Nevertheless, some modernization continues. Current priorities include a high-resolution center display, which enables the pilots to see the high-definition picture provided by targeting pods. The Air Force also wants to replace the wings on additional A-10s, which extends their service life from 8,000 to at least 10,000 flight hours. The service previously re-winged 173 of its 281 A-10s in 2019.
C-17 Globemaster III
DESCRIPTION: Inter- and intratheater-capable airlifter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Boeing
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1993
- BASIC VARIANT: One
- GUARD USAGE: Alaska’s 176th Wing, Mississippi’s 172nd Airlift Wing, New York’s 105th Airlift Wing, North Carolina’s 145th Airlift Wing, Tennessee’s 164th Airlift Wing and West Virginia’s 167th Airlift Wing operate C-17s. They represent 23% of the Air Force C-17 fleet. Hawaii’s 154th Wing flies the aircraft via an association with an active-component unit.
- UPDATE: The 145th Airlift Wing is the Guard’s newest C-17 wing, having received its first aircraft in 2018. Continuing modernization requirements include self-protection, the common Mobility Air Force’s mission computer, extended-range modification, a common maintenance computer and ground Operations Communication System Modernization.
C-130 Hercules
DESCRIPTION: Intratheater airlifter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Lockheed Martin
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1956
- BASIC VARIANTS: C-130H, C-130J and LC-130 (ski-equipped)
- GUARD USAGE: Guard wings in 17 states operate 49% of the Air Force’s C-130 fleet. In addition to their primary role in tactical airlift, Guard C-130s support humanitarian, peacekeeping and disaster-relief operations abroad, and firefighting at home.
- UPDATE: Most of the Guard’s C-130s are older H-models in need of significant modernization, including modern avionics, new engines and new propellers. The entire upgrade package for every Guard H-model is not fully funded, which is why C-130 modernization remains a NGAUS priority. The other option is purchasing new J models. The Air Force has never requested one for the Guard in budget requests, but Congress, at the behest of NGAUS, continues to add them to appropriations. There were 16 in fiscal 2022 appropriations. The congressional add-ons have enabled wings in Kentucky, Texas and West Virginia to begin converting to new aircraft over the last year. The Air Force is also looking to cut the overall C-130 fleet over the next few years. The Guard could lose three wings in the process. Ohio’s 179th Airlift Wing has already started its conversion from a flying unit to a cyber wing.
F-15 Eagle
DESCRIPTION: Air-supremacy fighter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: McDonnell Douglas (Boeing)
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1972
- BASIC VARIANTS: F-15C/D
- GUARD USAGE: The Guard operates six F-15 wings that provide 58% of the Air Force’s fleet and its only F-15 schoolhouse. Five of the units are the backbone of the nation’s Aerospace Control Alert system. Guard F-15Cs are on average 36 years old.
- UPDATE: The F-15C/D remains highly capable, but it requires some very expensive modernization to remain so in the face of advancing technology. The Air Force has opted for recapitalization over modernization, announcing plans in 2020 to replace the aircraft in all six Guard F-15 units. The process was supposed to begin this year, but now it looks like the schoolhouse, the 173rd Fighter Wing, will receive the new F-15EX Eagle II in 2024 and another Guard unit in Oregon, the 142nd Fighter Wing, will get the new F-15 variant in 2025. Meanwhile, a Florida unit (the 125th Fighter Wing) is supposed to receive the F-35A Lightning II in 2024. The service also plans to field either the F-15EX or the F-35A to Guard F-15C/D units in California, Louisiana and Massachusetts. That decision is pending. It’s complicated by a service proposal in the president’s fiscal 2023 budget to cut the buy of F-15EXs from 144 to 80 aircraft.
F-16 Fighting Falcon
DESCRIPTION: Multirole fighter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Lockheed Martin
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1979
- BASIC VARIANTS: F-16C/D
- GUARD USAGE: The Guard operates 332 F-16s across wings in 12 states. They provide more than a third of the Air Force fleet. Guard F-16s have been a constant presence overseas while also comprising 56% of the nation’s Aerospace Control Alert fighter force.
- UPDATE: Ongoing modernization efforts focus on active electronically scanned array radar. It’s a NGAUS legislative priority and was No. 1 on the top-10 list of significant major item shortages in the Air Guard on the Defense Department’s National Guard and Reserve Equipment Report for fiscal 2022. The Guard in June celebrated upgrading 72 Guard F-16s with AESA radar. Other modernization efforts underway include fielding affordable systems with secure line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communication suites with three-dimensional audio, smart displays with data-processing capability, advanced helmet-mounted target cueing for air and ground weapons employment and enhanced self-protection suites.
F-22A Raptor
DESCRIPTION: Air-dominance, multirole stealth fighter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Lockheed Martin, Boeing
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 2005
- BASIC VARIANT: One
- GUARD USAGE: The Guard has been flying the F-22A since 2007 when Virginia’s 192nd Fighter Wing transitioned to a classic associate under the 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The Guard received its first F-22s in 2010 when the fighter arrived at Hawaii’s 154th Wing, which supports U.S. Pacific Command. Also, Florida’s 325th Fighter Wing associate unit flies the F-22 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, under the 325th Fighter Wing, which operates the F-22 schoolhouse.
- UPDATE: For the past five consecutive years, Guard F-22 pilots, maintainers and aircraft have participated in combat operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and several major exercises. The Air Force has no plans to field the aircraft to any other Guard units. Primary Guard F-22 modernization focuses on common configuration and modernization to counter technological advances made by near-peer competitors. Enhancements in fuel and communication systems will allow F-22s to maintain air dominance at longer ranges from support assets. Improved GPS capabilities and a helmet-mounted display would increase the F-22’s distinct first-shot, first-kill advantage.
F-35A Lightning II
DESCRIPTION: Joint multirole stealth fighter- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Lockheed Martin
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 2016
- BASIC VARIANTS: Three: One for conventional takeoffs and landings (F-35A), one for short-takeoff/vertical landings (F-35B) and one for aircraft-carrier use (F-35C). The F-35 is expected to be the world’s premier fighter for the next 30 years. Nevertheless, program delays and cost overruns have spawned critics.
- GUARD USE: Vermont’s 158th Fighter Wing received the Guard’s first F-35 in 2019. The unit’s conversion is now complete.
- UPDATE: Wing airmen and aircraft deployed to Europe in April to support a NATO air policing mission, their first operational assignment in the new aircraft. Guard wings in Alabama (187th Fighter Wing) and Wisconsin (115th Fighter Wing) are scheduled to get the aircraft in 2023 and Florida (125th Fighter Wing) in 2024.
HH-60G Pave Hawk
DESCRIPTION: UH-60 Black Hawk specifically modified for search-and-rescue operations- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1982
- BASIC VARIANT: One
- GUARD USAGE: Guard rescue units in Alaska, California and New York operate 19% of the Air Force fleet. They’ve flown overseas during the war on terror and are continually on-call for a variety of rescue missions at home. There is also a Guard rescue squadron in New Mexico that flies the Pave Hawk as part of a classic association with an active-component wing. Guard Pave Hawks are on average 29 years old.
- UPDATE: The entire Pave Hawk fleet is rapidly aging and experiencing an increase in maintenance rates and component failures, which dictates recapitalization. The Air Force awarded a contract to Sikorsky to develop a new combat-search-and-rescue helicopter. The result is the HH-60W Jolly Green II. Fielding began in 2020, but the Guard likely won’t see them for several years, if at all. The Air Force wants to cut its planned buy of HH-60Ws. It’s also reviewing how best to conduct the mission in contested airspace, where helicopters would have difficulty surviving.
KC-135 Stratotanker
DESCRIPTION: Air refueler with some airlift capability- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Boeing
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 1956
- BASIC VARIANTS: KC-135R and KC-135T
- GUARD USAGE: Sixteen Guard air-refueling wings operate 44% of the Air Force KC-135 fleet. They have been an essential part of Air Force worldwide operations for decades. The Guard also flies the KC-135 as part of two classic associations with active-component units. Guard KC-135s are on average more than 60 years old.
- UPDATE: Even with a new tanker on the horizon, the KC-46A Pegasus, which is built on a 767-200 airframe, the KC-135 will likely remain in the fleet for another 20 years. Its continued use will require upgrades, including systems to defend against shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles during take offs and landing. Tactical data-link and situation-awareness displays that bring real-time information and secure radios are also needed. Late last year, Utah’s 151st Air Refueling Wing formally become the KC-135 Test Detachment for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Test Center to help accelerate development of the needed modernization.
KC-46A Pegasus
DESCRIPTION: Air refueler with airlift and aeromedical evacuation capability- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Boeing
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 2018
- BASIC VARIANTS: One
- GUARD USAGE: New Hampshire’s 157th Air Refueling Wing is only Guard unit to convert to the KC-46A, a modified Boeing 767 jet airliner.
- UPDATE: New Hampshire’s 157th Air Refueling Wing is the first Guard unit to convert to the KC-46A. The first aircraft arrived in 2019. The unit is working through the aircraft’s well-chronicled problems, including issues with how the boom connects with some aircraft and a glitch with its Remote Vision System. Boeing is working to develop a new RVS. No other Guard units are in the fielding plans at this time. The Air Force is already contemplating concepts for a next-generation tanker.
MQ-9 Reaper
DESCRIPTION: Remotely piloted aircraft with persistent hunter-killer capability- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: General Atomics Aeronautical System
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 2007
- BASIC VARIANT: One
- GUARD USAGE: The Guard has 12 RPA units and a classic association with an active-component wing. They fly combat missions 24/7/365 in every major U.S. combat theater, yet possess only 6% of the Air force MQ-9 fleet. The Guard also provides two of the three MQ-9 formal training units. Five launch-and-recovery sites are capable of offering continuation training and supporting domestic operations.
- UPDATE: Guard Reaper units now regularly support domestic wildfire fighting. In 2021, they flew 579 flight hours in support of wildfire fighting operations. Crews, equipment and maintenance personnel were credited with saving multiple California towns from wildfires by detecting and real-time reporting unanticipated wildfire movements. Modernization priorities include command-and-control resiliency, ground- and air-based detect-and-avoid systems, multi-spectral targeting system resolution and computing improvements, air domain awareness, and an alternate precision navigation and timing system. The Air Force is concerned about the MQ-9’s ability to survive in contested airspace, which is one of the reasons it asked Congress for permission to transfer 100 to an unnamed federal agency.
RC-26 Condor
DESCRIPTION: Manned intelligence, surveillance-and-reconnaissance aircraft- PRIMARY MANUFACTURER: Fairchild Republic Company
- ENTERED AIR FORCE SERVICE: 2002
- BASIC VARIANT: RC-26B
- GUARD USAGE: The RC-26B is a preferred provider of full-motion video for ISR requirements. The Guard operates 11 aircraft, the only RC-26Bs in the Air Force, in 10 states for maximum continental United States coverage. They are used primarily for counterdrug, emergency response and border missions. At least two aircraft supported local law enforcement during the height of the civil unrest in 2020.
- UPDATE: The entire Guard fleet needs modern avionics; a common mission-system configuration; full-spectrum video/data communication distribution; and an all-weather, wide-area imagery and moving target indicator. Air Force officials say the C-26 has no federal mission and have been attempting to retire it since 2019. Thus far, Congress has refused.
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