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Air Force

USAF Increases F-35 Request, But Number Lags That Required To Meet Combat-Coded Fighter Goal

Frank Wolfe

Monday, April 6th, 2026

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USAF Increases F-35 Request, But Number Lags That Required To Meet Combat-Coded Fighter Goal

Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an F-35A with the 356th Fighter Squadron during take-off at the Arctic Gold 26-1 at Eielson AFB, Alaska on Nov. 18, 2025.

The U.S. Air Force's $4.7 billion fiscal 2027 request for 52 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35A fighters--14 in a future reconciliation bill and 38 in the regular appropriations bill--would more than double last year's number of 24 F-35As funded by Congress, yet even that ramp up would be about half the rate required for the service to meet a force structure goal. Last fall, the Air Force told Congress in the 24-page Long Term USAF Fighter Force Structure report that the…

Congress

SASC’s FY ‘27 NDAA Sticks With Army’s Plan For Legacy Aviation Procurement Cuts

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) version of the next defense policy sticks to the Army’s proposed plan to cut procurement of its legacy aviation fleet, and does not authorize […]

Congress

SASC Approves $1.14 Trillion FY ‘27 NDAA With ‘Right to Repair’ Reform, Stock Buyback Restriction

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has approved its $1.14 trillion version of the next defense policy bill, adopting “right to repair” reform to provide the military services’ greater ability […]

Congress

House Appropriators Unveil $1.07 Trillion FY ‘27 Defense Bill, Restore Funds For E-7, Army Aviation

House appropriators on Wednesday released their $1.07 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense spending bill, with the legislation reversing Army aviation cuts, restoring funding for the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail program […]

Congress

MOSA Implementation By Pentagon Lagging, GAO Official Says

While the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) has been a requirement for major defense acquisition programs since January 2019 and other Defense Department acquisitions since January 2021, few programs are […]