ST. LOUIS — Boeing's fighter jet production has taken a hit as a twomonth strike by the company's St. Louis-area workers drags on — and U.S. Air Force officials are taking notice.

Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in written testimony that deliveries of F-15EX fighter jets had been anticipated this year but "are delayed due to the ongoing Boeing strikes."

Wilsbach said delivery of the first lot of F-15EX fighters is complete, but that only six of 12 jets in a second group of fighters had been delivered. The EX is a modernized version of Boeing's legacy fighter, the F-15.

Wilsbach, who is seeking Senate confirmation to become Air Force chief of staff, told the committee the delays would impact the Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon, and next

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