At least four U.S. Air National Guard units are worried because the aging F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to them are retiring and there are no immediate plans to replace them in the future. Aviation Week reported that the affected Air National Guard units are based in Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Texas. Air National Guard units operate primarily under the control of the governor of the state or U.S. territory in which they reside. However, the federal government can choose to take over control if needed.
The uncertainty has raised concerns among Air National Guard and Air Force leadership because moving any or all four Air National Guard units from combat roles to other mission configurations could limit the nation’s ability to keep aircraft in a readiness condition.
The first F-16A fighter jets were built by General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas, and were later acquired by Lockheed Martin and entered service in January 1979. Two years later, the F-16C/D Block 25-30 aircraft entered service, followed by the Block 40-42 F-16C/D fighters in 1989 and the Block 50-52 in 1994. For example, the average life of an F-35 fighter jet is 8,000 hours of flight time. The average service life of the F-16 fleet is 17.2 years.
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Are all F-16 squadrons at risk?
View of an F-16 Fighting Falcon in flight from above. – U.S. Air Force
The United States is not the only country retiring aging fighter jets; Denmark is also retiring its F-16 fleet. However, the F-16 Fighting Falcon still has a bright future in the U.S. Air Force and other militaries around the world.
As of September 2021, the U.S. Air Force reported an inventory of 1,017 F-16C/D fighter jets. This number is constantly changing due to planned retirements and continued production of F-16s by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin reports it has delivered 37 Block 70-72 aircraft, the latest generation F-16, and has a backlog of 111 aircraft. Overall, an estimated 2,800 F-16s have flown missions in 29 different countries, accounting for nearly 20 million flight hours.
An F-16C/D fact sheet provided by the U.S. Air Force describes the fighter’s primary function as a multi-role fighter “attacking airfields, military production facilities, Scud missile sites and various other targets” in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Storm. More advanced missions followed during Operation Allied Force and in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, during Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, the 2026 Iran conflict prompted Türkiye to deploy six F-16 fighter jets on March 9, 2026, to strengthen defenses against Turkish communities in northern Cyprus.
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