From left to right, a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-16 Fighting Falcon, French Air and Space Force Dassault Rafale and Airbus A400M Atlas, a German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon, a U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, a U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II, and a German Air Force PA-200 Tornado, fly in formation during Arctic Defender 24 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 8, 2024. Arctic Defender is a German Air Force-led exercise that provides a unique opportunity to integrate various forces into joint, coalition and multilateral training from simulated forward operating bases and is part of several exercises under Pacific Skies 24. Pacific Skies is a combination of several exercises in the Indo-Pacific theater in which German, French and Spanish air forces participate with U.S. forces. U.S. Air Force photo Senior Airman Julia Lebens
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2026 USAF & USSF Almanac
June 19, 2026
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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
For more than 50 years, our annual Almanac of the Air Force (and since 2020, the Space Force) has compiled data on the people, weapons, programs, and budgets of the Air Force, Space Force, and Department of Defense. We draw data from multiple sources, including Air Force and Space Force Public Affairs, Department of Defense documents, Congress and reports to Congress, Major Commands, and more.
This comprehensive, unclassified review of Air Force and Space Force data depends on the cooperation of the military services, and we gratefully acknowledge that support. We would be remiss, however, if we did not acknowledge that some data was withheld this year:
Mission Capable Rates for USAF aircraft
Pilot Training Hours
Aircraft Inventory by Major Commands
Average age of aircraft by Major Command
Demographics—Sex, ethnicity, race, and education—for general officers in the Active Air Force and Space Force
Demographics—Sex, ethnicity, race, and education—for all ranks in the Air National Guard
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
Both the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft headed to Creech Air Force Base, Nev., last week for an exercise focused on employing the semi-autonomous drones in more austere environments.
After years of struggling to get the KC-46A Pegasus an updated and improved remote vision system for aerial refueling, Air Force officials say the end of the saga is in sight.
The Air Force is preparing to move toward prototyping and testing a next-generation advanced engine and wants to be ready to integrate it onto an aircraft around 2030.
The Air Force plans to buy the engines for its new T-7A trainer directly instead of having Boeing, the plane's maker, provide engines as part of its contract.
Space Systems Command on July 27 announced a $287 million award to Sphinx Defense to develop a mission planning prototype for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications program’s ground segment.
A major planned upgrade for the F-35 fighter’s engine is expected to reach a major milestone in August when it undergoes its critical design review, an Air Force official said July 27.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org The Air Force will incorporate its sister services and more allies...
The Space Force awarded Rocket Lab $266 million to launch 12 suborbital missions over the next three years—most of them from a new launch pad in Alaska.
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