New Act Mandates Air Force Must Buy New Fighters Until All National Guard Legacy Jets Are Gone

This bill, officially the Air National Guard Squadron Preservation Act of 2025, forces the Air Force to modernize its National Guard fighter fleet—and it sets a hard deadline: the buying stops only when every single old ‘legacy’ fighter jet is replaced with a modern ‘advanced’ or ‘fifth-generation’ equivalent. Essentially, this is a massive, mandated shopping spree for new fighter jets like the F-35 or the F-15EX, ensuring that the Air National Guard (ANG) gets fully updated equipment. The goal, laid out in Section 2, is to guarantee the U.S. maintains a robust, experienced, and fully recapitalized fighter force in the ANG, ready for any threat.

The Long-Term Contract on the Taxpayer Dime

The biggest change is tucked into Section 3, which mandates continuous production and procurement. The Secretary of the Air Force must keep signing contracts for advanced jets until they can certify to Congress that every legacy aircraft in every relevant ANG unit has been swapped out. This is a huge, long-term commitment that takes the decision out of the annual budget cycle. For the average taxpayer, this means guaranteed, substantial spending on defense procurement for the foreseeable future. While it ensures our forces have the best gear, it also potentially locks up significant funds that might otherwise go to other military priorities or domestic programs—a classic trade-off in defense spending.

Accountability and the GAO’s Watch

To keep the process honest, the bill builds in significant oversight. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to conduct a deep dive into any problems the Air Force encounters while trying to buy these advanced jets (Section 3). Think of the GAO as the independent auditor that checks the fine print on the receipt. They have to report their findings and solutions to Congress within a year. After that, the Secretary of the Air Force must file an annual progress report detailing how they are following the GAO’s advice and how many old planes they’ve successfully replaced with new ones. This structure is designed to prevent the modernization effort from stalling out due to bureaucratic or acquisition challenges.

Planning for the Robot Pilots

The Act also forces the Air Force to look ahead, specifically requiring a study on the need for more advanced fighters for both active duty and reserve forces (Section 3). Crucially, this study must consider how future plans for unmanned or autonomous planes—drones and robot wingmen—will affect the overall fighter jet requirement. This acknowledges the reality that the future of air combat won't just involve piloted jets. Furthermore, the study must calculate potential cost savings if a foreign military buys certain advanced F-16 variants, linking international sales to domestic procurement strategy. This provision suggests a calculated effort to leverage foreign military sales to lower the cost of domestic production, which benefits the defense industry and, theoretically, the U.S. budget.

What Counts as 'Advanced'?

To avoid confusion, the bill clearly defines what aircraft qualify. An “advanced capability fighter aircraft” includes the newest F-16 variants (Block 70/72 or later), the F-15EX, or any future jet the Secretary designates. The older, “legacy capability fighter aircraft” are everything else, specifically excluding those Block 70/72 F-16s. This clarity is important: it prevents the Air Force from simply upgrading old airframes and calling it modernization. For the ANG units, this means a guaranteed leap in technology, moving them from older, higher-maintenance platforms to jets with modern avionics and capabilities.