â Only ticks that are attached and have finished feeding or are near the end of their meal can transmit Lyme disease. After arriving on the skin, the tick that spreads Lyme disease usually takes 24 hours before feeding begins. â Even if a tick is attached, it must have taken a blood meal to transmit Lyme disease.
All this in a period when the Air Force is the smallest and oldest since its inception in 1947. Of its roughly 5,000 aircraft, the average age is twenty-five years old. Todayâs Air Force is already struggling, and tomorrowâs is entirely at risk.
In 2001, the average plane was 22 years old. The Air Force says it wants to buy new planes to lower the average age of its fleet to 15 years over the next two decades. That will cost an estimated $400billion. There are 356 A-10s in service.