An Air Force release late last week confirms that the service has decided its E model F-15s can return to flight, following a 13-hour inspection of hydraulics and structural elements. TSgt. Russell Wicke reports that Air Combat Command chief Gen. John Corley issued the order on Nov. 11. Still grounded after a Nov. 2 crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C are all A, B, C, and D models. The Air Force has a total of around 700 F-15s, including, as of Sept. 30, 2006 data, 223 E models, which are structurally enhanced for their air-to-ground role. Col. Frederick Jones, ACC combat aircraft division chief, said that initial reports from an engineering analysis indicated that “the F-15E is not susceptible to the same potential cause of the Missouri mishap.” However, he added, the inspections of each E model will be “very methodical and thorough, because ACC doesn’t intend to see any of the fighters “rushed” back into service.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.