A new Congressional Research Service report highlights the growing gap between the U.S. Air Force’s current fighter inventory, its legally mandated force structure, and the much larger planned fleet.
The U.S. Air Force is currently operating below the fighter inventory minimum established by Congress, even as the service is seeking to dramatically increase the size of its combat-coded fighter fleet over the next decade. The issue is highlighted in a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, Air Force Fighter Force Structure: Background and Issues for Congress, published on Sept. 4, 2026.
The report mentions a 1,558-aircraft objective by 2035, although
