September 9, 2026
Air Force fighter fleet falls short of Congress's 1,145-aircraft minimum with no recovery in sight until 2030
The U.S. Air Force now fields just 1,098 fighter aircraft, nearly 50 planes below the congressionally mandated floor, and a new research report warns the shortfall will only deepen before it improves. A Congressional Research Service report flagged the gap and laid out a series of hard questions for...
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