Preservation and recapitalization of Air National Guard fighter fleet

Section 9062 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by sections 2 through 4, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (p) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), during the period beginning on December 23, 2024, and ending on October 1, 2030, the Secretary of the Air Force— (A) shall maintain not less than 25 fighter aircraft squadrons of the Air National Guard, including the 25 fighter aircraft squadrons of the Air National Guard in existence as of December 23, 2024; and (B) may not retire, reduce funding for, or place in a status considered excess to the requirements of the possessing command and awaiting disposition instructions (commonly referred to as XJ status) any legacy capability fighter aircraft or fifth-generation fighter aircraft assigned to any of the 25 fighter aircraft squadrons of the Air National Guard in existence as of December 23, 2024. (2) The prohibition under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to individual legacy capability fighter aircraft, advanced capability fighter aircraft, or fifth-generation fighter aircraft that the Secretary of the Air Force determines, on a case-by-case basis, to be no longer mission capable and uneconomical to repair because of aircraft accidents, mishaps, or excessive material degradation and non-airworthiness status of certain aircraft. (3) For each new advanced capability fighter aircraft or fifth-generation fighter aircraft assigned and delivered to a fighter aircraft squadron maintained under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of the Air Force may retire a legacy capability fighter aircraft from that squadron on a one-for-one basis. (4) Section 2244a of this title shall not apply to the implementation of this subsection..