The U.S. Air Force plans to bed down 25 F-35As in fiscal 2026, according to a recent Defense Department report outlining how the service plans to field an inventory of nearly 700 of the aircraft by the end of the decade.
The Selected Acquisition Report, effective as of Dec. 31, 2023, was cleared for public release in August. It outlines the number of fighters the service intends to field each year through fiscal 2029, with expected losses of between two to four F-35As per year, for a total inventory of 664 aircraft.
An Air Force official told Air & Space Forces Magazine, which first reported on the report, that the figures should not be considered as an exact reflection of planned Air Force budget requests, but they relate to “a number of factors” impacting how fast aircraft can be purchased, delivered and absorbed into existing units and fielded to new locations. The official also said there have been adjustments to the program since late 2023 when the report became effective, which were not captured in the report.
The Pentagon’s plan is for the fleet of F-35s, including the F-35B variant for the U.S. Marine Corps and the F-35C variant for the U.S. Navy, to replace the various services’ legacy fleets and complement their other aircraft.
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For fiscal 2026, the report outlines a plan to bed down 16 F-35Bs and 20 F-35Cs, with the services reaching an inventory of 245 and 219 of those respective aircraft by fiscal 2029. Expected losses for the Marine Corps and Navy fleets range from zero to two per year, about half of what the Air Force anticipates.
Additionally, the report describes a procurement plan for the F-35As, with an intention to buy 42 in both fiscal 2025 and 2026, 47 in fiscal 2027 and 2028 and then 48 per year through fiscal 2048. Then, in fiscal 2049, it plans to buy 34, bringing the total number of aircraft acquired since 2007 to 1,763.
The Air Force’s 2025 budget request also outlines the service’s ask for 42 F-35As, a procurement document shows.
The Pentagon cleared the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for full-rate production earlier this year, Defense News previously reported.
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
