Topic summary
F-111
Extracted from the Wikipedia article General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark.
Being relatively expensive to maintain amid post-Cold War budget cuts, the USAF elected to retire its F-111 fleet during the 1990s; the last F-111Fs were withdrawn in 1996, while the remaining EF-111s also departed in 1998. The F-111 was replaced in USAF service by the F-15E Strike Eagle for medium-range, precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. The RAAF continued to operate the type until December 2010, when the last F-111C was retired; its role was transitioned to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as an interim measure until the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II became available.