Based on official data we’ve seen, the average annual cost per flying hour of Air Force aircraft types is up across the board with one exception: intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platforms. From Fiscal 2003 through 2007, the annual CPFH of ISR types actually declined on average by 4.1 percent, aided by the reduced complexity of unmanned aircraft. Over that same period, though, the annual CPFH was up about 8.1 percent per year for bombers, 9.8 percent for fighters, 10.2 percent for tactical airlift, and a whopping 17.2 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively, for strategic lift and VIP transports. The annual cost increases of flying tankers, trainers, and special operations platforms ranged from roughly six percent to seven percent during that five-year span.
AETC Launches Blueprint with AI Training for All Airmen
Sept. 10, 2026
Strategic guidance from the command in charge of Air Force training lays out a plan to train all Airmen in artificial intelligence and build “Digital Airmen” across the force’s training and education enterprise.
