BOISE, Idaho — The Air Force has made an announcement that will have a big impact in the Treasure Valley.
As the military begins to retire A-10C Thunderbolt IIs from its fleet, plans have been made public that the National Guard will be replacing the A-10 mission with an F-16 Fighting Falcon mission at Gowen Field Air National Guard Base.
There are currently 18 A-10s in Gowen's inventory, and the plan is for them to be replaced one for one. The F-16 aircraft are expected to begin arriving in 2027, pending the completion of a 2025 environmental study.
The transition is intended to better align the base to support the Nation Defense Strategy, leveraging existing fighter aircraft operations and maintenance expertise from the Gowen base.
"The Idaho Air National Guard has been flying fighter aircraft for more than 75 years and our pilots and maintainers have a lot of experience and expertise . This is great news for national defense and the state of Idaho and for the viability of the Idaho National Guard," said Lt. Col Christopher Borders, Public Affairs Officer for Gowen Field.
The aging A-10s are also being retired from Moody AFB in Georgia, where they will be replaced with F-35As in 2029.
F-35As had been in contention to reside in Boise, but ultimately concerns of noise pollution ended the bid.
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