Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley said the Air Force has “no incentive to go back” to buying any more F-15s or F-16s. Money spent on new old airplanes is going in the wrong direction, he told reporters at AFA’s conference Monday, acknowledging that USAF has declined a Boeing proposal to buy new F-15s if JSF is delayed. The Air Force will only go forward toward an “all-fifth generation” fighter force.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability prevail. “Peace through strength” has...