According to this story, the U.S. Air Force has grounded their F-15s for safety concerns. They decided to ground these planes after the crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C fighter on Nov. 2.

This is a problem for Montana.

Why? The Montana Air National Guard is supposed to obtain 18 F-15s from the Missouri National Guard to replace their aging F-16s. If the Montana National Guard still obtains these planes, the F-15s are supposed to last until 2025.

The recent problem with the F-15 may compel the Air Force to go to the newer F-22 fighter earlier than planned. The F-22 is an expensive plane to build. The Air Force is phasing out the F-15s and this incident may speed that up.

This could mean the Montana National Guard may not get the F-15s, and they would have to get in line to get the F-22 (that everybody wants) or they may not get any planes at all. Without any member of the Montana Congressional delegation on a defense committee, Montana may be left out in the cold.

We’ll see.