SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. government should move faster to replace aging F-15 fighter jets, many of which are grounded, Oregon's governor and its National Guard commander said Friday.
     
Oregon has two sets of the jets: The 142nd Fighter Wing has 19 at Portland Air National Guard Base, and the 173d Fighter Wing has 25 at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, where it trains F-15 pilots.
     
The entire fleet of F-15s was grounded after a pilot ejected safely Nov. 2 and the jet crashed in Missouri.
     
The jets were returned to duty Nov. 21, but the oldest, about 60 percent, were grounded again Wednesday, the Air Force said. It said defects were found in the metal rails that hold their fuselages together.
     
Kulongoski said the F-15s could be fixed, but the safety of the nation's skies requires replacement "sooner rather than later."
     
"Duct tape, new paint and blind eye will not make our nation safe," he said in a statement released as he held a news conference Friday with Maj. Gen. Raymond Rees, commander of the Oregon National Guard and the state's adjutant general.
     
The Air Force plans to replace the workhorse F-15s with the F-22 Raptor, but the new, stealthy fighter has turned out to be expensive - upward of $135 million per plane and more than $350 million each when research, development and testing are factored in.
     
The Air Force says the F-22 is far more capable than the F-15, which was first delivered in 1972. It can cruise at more than 1.5 times the speed of sound, perform maneuvers at altitudes greater than 50,000 feet and use its stealth capabilities to attack targets without detection.
     
The Air Force hoped at first to buy 750 Raptors. It said recently it needed 381 but may not have enough money to buy more than about 180.
     
The grounded F-15s won't fly until each is inspected and repaired, if necessary.
     
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)