President Donald Trump unveiled new plans Tuesday to swap out the retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.
Trump shared details of the new fighter jet mission during a speech to National Guardsmen at the Michigan base for an event commemorating his 100th day in office.
Selfridge will become the fourth military installation to operate the fighter jet, which only entered operational service in July 2024.
‘Fresh off the line. That means they are brand new,’ Trump said. ‘They’ve never been anywhere. This is where they’re going to be for a long time. And I saw one of them, flew over my head, and I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ That plane has serious power. So this is the best there is anywhere in the world, the F-15EX Eagle II. This will keep Selfridge at the cutting edge of Northern American air power.’
The next-generation fighter jet is currently only operating at three other bases, all National Guard: Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon; Fresno Air National Guard Base in California; and New Orleans Air National Guard Base in Louisiana.
The fighter jet is an updated version of the F-15C Eagle aircraft that the Air Force introduced in 1989, and features bolstered fuel efficiency, radar and avionics, according to the Air National Guard. The jet is designed to work alongside other Air Force aircraft, including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
‘America’s military will soon be stronger and more powerful than ever before, and Selfridge Air National Guard Base will remain at the center of the action,’ Trump said.
Trump’s announcement comes amid lengthy debate between Congress and the executive branch about how to phase out the A-10. While Congress put a stop to former President Barack Obama’s administration’s attempts to retire the aircraft, Trump’s first administration called to keep the aircraft in service.
Meanwhile, former President Joe Biden’s administration moved to start retiring the aircraft more aggressively in 2023.
The Air Force introduced the A-10 in 1977, and the aircraft experienced combat for the first time during the Gulf War.
In March, Trump shared that Boeing would build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet, known as the F-47. An experimental version had been covertly flying for years, he said.
The Next Generation Air Defense initiative that the Biden administration put on the back burner will oversee the effort. However, the Trump administration revived the program.
‘I’m thrilled to announce that at my direction the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet,’ Trump said in March. ‘Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be called the ‘F-47,’ the generals picked that title.’