DAF TOTAL FORCE END STRENGTH Fiscal 2024 end strength is as of Sept. 30, 2024, except where noted by a single *, which is an estimate provided in the fiscal 2025 Defense Department budget request. The White House had not...
defense
Total aircraft inventory; aircraft inventory trends; ICBM and satellite inventory; and aircraft age. Aircraft Total Active Inventory (TAI) (As of Sept. 30, 2024) ACTIVE ANG AFRC TOTAL FORCE AVG. AGE BOMBER B-1B Lancer[i] 46 0 0 46 37.40 B-2A Spirit[i]...
DOD TOTAL FORCE END STRENGTH Fiscal 2024 end strength is as of Sept. 30, 2024, except where noted by a single *. Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution to fund the government for fiscal 2025 at the same levels as...
It’s time to return to disciplined budget preparation and careful strategic investment.
As futuristic aviation programs gain priority, the F-35—the only in-production, fifth-generation American fighter—is facing new headwinds. Fresh debate over its challenges and its potential in the coming months will shape its future role in the force.
The U.S. Air Force must grow its 5th-gen fleet—and soon. Today, there is one aircraft in production that can answer that call: the F-35. The Air Force, Secretary Pete Hegseth, President Trump, and Congress must boost F-35 acquisition as rapidly as possible, writes Doug Birkey, ...
ACE Gets Real How USAF is evolving Agile Combat Employment informed by insights from Ukraine and Israel. By David Roza As the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Air Command, Gen. James B. Hecker...
Space and Missile Defense Leaders Ponder Golden Dome By Unshin Lee Harpley Within a week of his inauguration, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to outline a comprehensive air and missile defense strategy with a focus on advanced space-based interceptors....
Sustained Munitions Production and Lower-Cost Designs By John A. Tirpak Munitions have long been a bill-payer in the Air Force budget—staples of warfare that, in peacetime, can be neglected or shortchanged to pay for more pressing needs—but after more than...
Space Superiority Takes Center Stage By Greg Hadley Looking into the future in 1957, then-Maj. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever predicted that “in the long haul, our safety as a nation may depend upon our achieving ‘space superiority.’” Now,...
Allvin Makes the Case for More Airpower It’s all about ‘more options for the President,’ CSAF says. By Chris Gordon Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin dialed up the intensity of his calls for “more Air Force” in...
