Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley will visit with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s defense forces tomorrow to discuss what USAF has learned about structural problems with the F-15A-D fleet. The Saudi air force flies about 170 F-15s, of which some 98 are of the same vintage as the Air Force Eagles suffering from stress fatigue and longeron problems (in fact, some were provided right out of the USAF inventory to bolster Saudi defenses before the first Gulf War). Moseley is not expected to offer much more than a status report, however. USAF has grounded 162 F-15s due to the problems, which caused an F-15C to break apart in midair in November. Nine of those have been found to have cracks. A “get well plan” has not yet been made definite, but USAF officials say at least some of the aircraft will be retired rather than fixed.
Back from a Thanksgiving week recess, the push to pass the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act hit another snag Nov. 29, as the Senate voted against ending debate on its version of the bill. At the same time, Congress is staring down a Dec. 3 expiration date for its continuing…