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Air Force

Bussiere: USAF Bomber Fleet Availability ‘In the 50s’

Frank Wolfe

Thursday, May 22nd, 2025

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Bussiere: USAF Bomber Fleet Availability ‘In the 50s’

Pictured is a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer with the 28th Bomb Wing during a hot-pit refueling at Grand Forks AFB, N.D. on Oct. 1, 2024 (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The percentage of U.S Air Force bombers available for missions is in the 50s—a trend consistent with service-wide aircraft availability statistics, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said this week. Such availability takes into account aircraft in depot, while mission capability rates are typically higher, as they do not count such planes in depot. "Between the B-1, B-2, and B-52 force we hover around the 50s for aircraft availability just because of spare parts and…

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