If Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has his way, the first F-16C model to fly past 7,000 hours will not go to the boneyard at the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Arizona at the end of the year, reports Associated Press (via The Reformer). The fighter, known as Lethal Lady and flown by the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington, reached the 7,000-flying hour mark last month and is slated for grounding later this year. However, Leahy, in a letter to the Air Force last week, has asked to have the aircraft put on display in Vermont. He wrote, “The Lethal Lady has clocked record-setting hours and saved the lives of soldiers and marines in combat, setting new tactical standards,” and added that the aircraft and its aircrews and maintainers “stand as a symbol of the dedication, endurance, and values of the Air National Guard and the entire Air Force.”
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.