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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…

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