Inside the geriatric unit: US Air Force struggles to keep aging aircraft flying

For decades, the U.S. Air Force has grown accustomed to such superlatives as unrivaled and unbeatable.

These days, some of its key combat aircraft are being described with terms like geriatric, or decrepit.

The aging of the U.S. Air Force, a long-simmering topic in defense circles, made a brief appearance in the presidential debates when Republican nominee Mitt Romney cited it as evidence of the decline of U.S. military readiness.

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