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
Photo Caption & Credits
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
More than 40 years after the original YF-117 operational prototype flew test runs from a Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility, an F-117 returned for a $1 million refurbishment to look its best when it assumes its place in history alongside other iconic aircraft on permanent exhibit at the National Air…
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The Marine Corps recently conducted its first-ever “ripple” release of eight Small Diameter Bomb IIs from an F-35B, a key early step in proving out the capability for all F-35 variants.
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced a new partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s space warfare directorate to collect and share space weather data from the company’s suborbital spacecraft, due for its first commercial flight next year.
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The Space Force has officially established its component to U.S. Special Operations Command, creating a ninth component charged with presenting space expertise to commanders in the field.
One of the Air Force’s critical B-2 Spirit stealth bombers has returned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., after an extensive course of maintenance to restore its stealth coating and preserve its structural integrity.
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