Congress May Keep Selfridge-Based Fighter Jets Flying
Congress has reached a compromise spending plan that would stop the A-10 fighter jet fleet from being retired.
Members of Congress have reached a compromise that that could preserve the fighter jet squadron stationed at Metro Detroit’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
The chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees said this week they have reached an agreement on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, the more than $600 billion measure that funds the military.
As part of that deal the federal government would retain the military’s A-10 fighter jets, including about a dozen of the planes based at Selfridge.
Many of those jets are currently engaged in supporting military operations in the Middle East fighting the terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State.
But the Pentagon wants to begin retiring the A-10 fighters next year, saying they are outdated and would cost too much to modernize.
Obama Administration officials say the President will veto the overall military spending measure if it remains as is because it relies on what was meant to be temporary war funding.
Some Macomb County officials say they fear if the jets are taken from Selfridge it will make the facility easier to close if there is a renewed round of military base closures.
