The U.S. Air Force plans to expand its combat-coded fighter fleet to 1,509 aircraft by 2035 to meet National Defense Strategy requirements at a moderate level of risk, according to a force-structure assessment submitted to Congress. The fleet would include larger shares of Lockheed Martin F-35As and future F-47s, alongside Boeing F-15EXs and existing F-16s and F-15 variants.
The assessment, delivered to lawmakers on 16 October, was outlined by Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programmes, at a Pentagon briefing. The 1,509-aircraft target exceeds earlier projections of 1,271 combat-coded fighters for 2026 and 1,369 by 2030. A low-risk posture would require 1,723 aircraft.
Around 40% of the 2035 fleet is expected to comprise F-35As. F-22s and their planned F-47 replacements would account for about 20%, while F-15 variants and F-16s would share the remainder approximately evenly. The additional aircraft would mainly be F-35As, F-15EXs and F-47s.
The figure uses the Air Force’s preferred Combat Coded Total Aircraft Inventory measure, which includes backup and attrition-reserve aircraft, rather than Congress’s Primary Mission Aircraft Inventory metric. It excludes Collaborative Combat Aircraft; the service plans to field 500 uncrewed wingmen by 2032.
Meeting the target will depend on congressional funding and production capacity at Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The fiscal 2027 request covers 38 F-35As and 24 F-15EXs, or 62 fighters, below the Air Force’s stated requirement to acquire 72 aircraft annually. The service cautioned that the forecast could change as global conditions, operational requirements and technology evolve.