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Air Force

Difficulty Ahead For USAF In Meeting 1,558 Combat Coded Fighter Goal

Frank Wolfe

Thursday, October 30th, 2025

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Difficulty Ahead For USAF In Meeting 1,558 Combat Coded Fighter Goal

Pictured is U.S. Air Force Capt. James Dickens, 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron pilot and assistant director of operations, checking his gear in an F-16 at Eielson AFB, Alaska on August 25th (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The Air Force will have problems meeting its goal of 1,558 combat-coded manned fighters in the next decade--a number laid out by the service in a required fighter force structure report to Congress under Section 142 of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. A major element of the long stretch will be the retirements of the A-10 close air support aircraft, the Block 20 F-22s by Lockheed Martin [LMT], the Boeing [BA] F-15Es with the RTX [RTX] Pratt &…

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