The U.S. Air Force has told Congress it needs 1,509 combat-coded fighter jets by 2035, according to a force structure report sent to lawmakers on Oct. 16. The figure was outlined by Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, at a Pentagon roundtable with reporters on Oct. 20.
The 1,509 figure represents what regional commanders say they need to carry out their missions at medium risk, a level where forces would likely achieve their goals but could be strained in long operations. The service also calculated a low-risk requirement of 1,723 aircraft, up from a prediction of 1,558 last year, Tabor said. He noted the analysis began before this year’s war with Iran and was not driven by it, and that the figure is likely to change with world events, new requirements, and technology.
Under the projected fleet mix, F-35s would make up about 40 percent of the fleet, up from about 30 percent today. F-22s and their replacement, the F-47, would make up about 20 percent, with the service planning to replace F-22s with roughly the same number of F-47s. F-15s and F-16s would split the remaining 40 percent about evenly. The figures exclude A-10s, which are not in the Air Force’s 2035 plans.
Reaching the 1,509 goal depends on congressional funding and on Lockheed Martin and Boeing building the jets on schedule, Tabor said. The fiscal 2027 request seeks 38 F-35s and 24 F-15EXs, a total of 62 aircraft. The budget counts on $2.34 billion for 14 of the 38 F-35s through a reconciliation bill; if that bill fails, Tabor said the service could pull money from other programs or push the buys to 2028.
Tabor confirmed the Air Force is weighing whether to buy a new-build F-16, tentatively called the F-16G, to replace older aircraft. He said a decision is not urgent and likely will not come in the fiscal 2028 budget. The 1,509 figure does not include Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs, drone wingmen the service plans to field in a fleet of 500 by 2032. Tabor said the drones have not yet changed the fighter requirement but could reduce it in future reports.
The report also notes modernization setbacks for the F-35 have driven delays and production struggles have postponed F-15EX deliveries. Boeing said in a statement it is working with the U.S. Air Force and Department of War to ramp up F-15EX production, and a Lockheed spokesperson said the company is on pace to deliver 156 F-35s in 2026.
Sources: DVIDS News · Defense News