{"id":161820,"date":"2026-10-24T03:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T21:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=161820"},"modified":"2026-10-23T05:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:16:38","slug":"largest-air-force-in-the-world-targets-1509-fighters-by-2035-as-new-f-16-decision-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/24\/largest-air-force-in-the-world-targets-1509-fighters-by-2035-as-new-f-16-decision-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest Air Force in the World Targets 1,509 Fighters by 2035 as New F-16 Decision Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ARLINGTON-<\/strong> The US Air Force (USAF)<\/a> plans to grow its combat-coded fighter fleet to 1,509 aircraft by 2035, according to a report it sent to Congress on October 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Gen. David Tabor said a decision on buying new F-16 Vipers from Lockheed Martin\u2019s plant in Greenville, South Carolina (GSP), is not urgent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: United States Armed Forces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Air Force Options for Replacing Older F-16s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tabor, the Air Force\u2019s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, discussed the report at a Pentagon media roundtable on October 20. The Air Force did not release a full copy of the report to reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the service has made no decision on a new F-16<\/a> version, tentatively called the F-16G. He also said the decision will likely fall outside the fiscal 2028 budget process, which will produce a proposal early next year. It may come in the years after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older F-16s will reach the end of their lifespans in the mid-2030s, and Tabor said \u201cwe are very conscious of that.\u201d He described the simple approach of replacing them one-for-one with new F-16s as \u201cmaybe the lazy\u201d option, and said it may not be the best strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a spectrum of capability that we might want to replace the F-16s with,\u201d Tabor said. \u201cIt\u2019s not urgent, frankly. What we don\u2019t want to get to is a point where it is urgent, and we haven\u2019t done the homework and decided \u2018hey, this is really the right place to be.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do have time to churn through that and make sure that we have a good option going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Air Force spokesperson said last month that the service had defined neither the mission requirements nor the range of options for the next Future Years Defense Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fighter Fleet Mix Planned for 2035<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force expects the 2035 fleet to be about 40 percent F-35s. F-22 Raptors<\/a> and F-47s<\/a> would make up 20 percent. F-15 variants, including F-15E Strike Eagles and F-15EXs<\/a>, and F-16s would share the remaining 40 percent, split about evenly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current fleet, not counting A-10 Warthogs, is about 45 percent F-16s, 30 percent F-35s, 15 percent F-15s and 10 percent F-22s. The service plans to retire the last A-10s by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force had 1,168 combat-coded fighters at the start of fiscal 2026. Last year\u2019s report estimated 1,271 for 2026 and set a goal of 1,369 by 2030. The new 1,509 target adds about 140 jets, a mix of F-35s, F-15EXs and F-47s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the F-47, Tabor said the Air Force still plans to replace its F-22s with roughly the same number of F-47s. Reports put the operational F-22 fleet at 185 or 186 jets. The final F-47 fleet size remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor said the previous report used \u201cpretty old\u201d data, so researchers gathered newer information. He said that work began before combat operations against Iran earlier this year and was not driven by the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The estimate rests on combatant commanders\u2019 requirements to reach their goals at \u201cmedium risk.\u201d Tabor called these subjective assessments that will likely change. \u201cCertainly, world events and changing requirements in the combatant commands will change that number,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: United States Armed Forces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Budget and Industry Capacity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tabor said two factors must fall into place. Congress must fund the aircraft, and the defense industry, mainly Lockheed Martin and Boeing, must build enough of them in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Force leaders have said for years that the service needs 72 new fighters a year. The fiscal 2027 request falls short with 38 F-35s and 24 F-15EXs, a total of 62. Tabor said purchases can \u201cramp over time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The request counts on $2.34 billion from a budget reconciliation bill to pay for 14 of the 38 F-35s. If that bill fails, the Air Force could take money from its base budget. Tabor said that would mean \u201cwe just lose 14 times [an] F-35\u2019s worth of other capabilities that we were planning on.\u201d The service could also push those purchases to 2028, which would delay progress toward its fleet goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor addressed industry capacity directly. \u201cThe question is, can industry produce at those levels?\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve assured us that they can, and we believe them, but we also actually need to see it manifest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force is also seeking multiyear procurement authority for the F-35 and F-15EX, and the request is pending before Congress. Tabor said such deals give industry financial stability, which could help it expand and steady production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockheed Martin\u2019s order books are already full because U.S. allies and partners want F-16s. That raises questions about its capacity to add a large Air Force program, similar to questions about Boeing\u2019s ability to meet F-15EX demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Egyptian F-16 Fighting Falcon; Photo- Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Case for New-Build F-16s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force had 774 F-16s at the start of fiscal 2026 and expected that number to fall to 768. Not all of them serve in combat-coded units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service is upgrading many of them with new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and electronic warfare suites. It also moves newer F-16s from squadrons that switch to the F-35 into units that fly older jets. Last year\u2019s report planned to replace Block 30 F-16s in five Air National Guard formations with Block 40 and 50 jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockheed Martin builds Block 70 and Block 72 F-16s in Greenville, which differ in engine type. Reports last month said the company pitched the Air Force a Block 70-based version. The first Block 72 F-16D, destined for Morocco, flew in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor said a new F-16 is \u201cpractically a ready-made aircraft\u201d if the Air Force wants the same type of capability. TWZ<\/a> has reported that a new F-16 offers about 12,000 flight hours of structural life without structural upgrades, double that of the original F-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: USAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Collaborative Combat Aircraft Add Uncertainty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has ordered the General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance and the Anduril FQ-44 Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) into production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It aims to field at least 500 of these drones by 2032. It also expects to buy more CCAs, possibly of different types, in a second development cycle called Increment 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor said CCAs are not yet changing the fighter count the Air Force needs. \u201cCCA is very much a reality,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is going to be a part of our future, and there is absolutely a world in which the incorporation of CCAs into the force will mitigate the requirement for the number of fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not the CCA that we have right now, but it is advancing very, very rapidly. We\u2019re confident that it will play a major role in future versions of the fighter force structure report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F-22s will be the first fighters to control CCAs, followed by F-35s and F-47s. Pairing CCAs with fourth-generation jets like the F-16 could also strengthen the case for new Vipers as a lower-cost option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: By Steve Lynes from Sandshurst, United Kingdom – EGUL – General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon – United States Air Force – 86-0307 \/ FM, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=89229877<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Congress and Politics Could Change the Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2035 target spans several election cycles, including the one that will decide the next presidential administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense spending priorities may shift in that time. Congress also regularly forces changes to major procurement plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past 2 years, lawmakers pushed the Air Force to proceed with the E-7A Wedgetail and helped save the Navy\u2019s F\/A-XX sixth-generation fighter program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us on\u00a0Telegram Group\u00a0<\/a>for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Top 10 Most Powerful Air force in the World by Drones<\/a><\/blockquote>