The decision comes after Japan on Sunday grounded its F-15 fleet after it was informed by US forces that an Air National Guard F-15 fighter jet had crashed.

"The cause of that accident is still under investigation," the US Air Force said in a statement.

"Preliminary findings indicate that a possible structural failure of the aircraft may have occurred. The suspension of flight operations is a precautionary measure."

The Air Force has more than 700 F-15s in its fleet. But until further notice, they will only be used for emergency missions in Iraq or Afghanistan, while F-16s will be used for all routine operations.

"They have some concerns about structural issues with the F-15 that went down," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

"The Air Force is looking at its operational requirements and where they have the newer aircraft and are making some of those available for missions while they take a look at the F-15 and see if they have a more systemic problem throughout the fleet," said Whitman.

"They will still be flying F-15 in support of troops and when there are no other aircraft available."

The plane that crashed on Friday was a 27-year-old F-15C built in Hazelwood, Missouri.

Around 500 of the total F-15 fleet are older models with an average age of around 25 years, Air Force spokesman Cristin Marposon told AFP.

There are also around 223 of the later F-15E models, which are mostly the ones used in Iraq.

The Air Force is trying to replace its oldest F-15s with the F-22 Raptor made by Lockheed Martin, but due to budgetary constraints it has so far only been able to purchase half of the aircraft it has asked for.

The US Congress has given approval for the Air Force to purchase 183 F-22s, although military officials have said they need 381 aircraft. A total of 97 F-22s have already been integrated into the fleet.

But Friday's accident may help step up the replacement program.

"The chief of staff directed the grounding for safety concerns. We will see what comes out of the investigation," Marposon said.

The US Air Force stopped buying F-15s in 2004, but Boeing has continued to produce them for clients in South Korea and Singapore, which ordered 12 new craft at the end of 2005.

In Japan, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters that Tokyo has also suspended flights of F-2 fighter jets after one crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at an airport in central Japan last week.

"We will deal with the task of preventing airspace incursions with our F-4 fighter jets," the oldest model among Japan's fighter jets, Ishiba said.

The Japanese Air Force had 203 F-15s, 68 F-2s and 91 F-4s as of March 2006, a Japanese defence ministry spokesman said.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News