The Air Force Wants 1,509 Fighters by 2035

A new force structure report maps the fleet Washington needs — crewed jets, drone wingmen, and a budget that depends on Congress.

By The Defense Desk

The U.S. Air Force has told Congress it needs 1,509 combat-coded fighters by 2035 — a target shaped by regional commander demand and rated at medium risk, meaning forces would likely achieve their goals but could be strained in long operations. [1]

Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, outlined the fleet's composition at an Oct. 20 Pentagon roundtable: F-35s would grow from about 30% of the fleet today to 40% by 2035; F-22s and their successor, the F-47, would hold roughly 20%; and F-15s and F-16s would split the remaining 40% about evenly. [1]

[1] The force completed its first-ever live-fire test with Anduril's FQ-44A, executing an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target using an inert AIM-120. [2]

The fiscal 2027 budget request seeks 38 F-35s and 24 F-15EXs — 62 jets total, against a stated need of 72 per year — and counts on $2.34 billion, which would come through a reconciliation bill, to pay for 14 of the 38 F-35s. [1] The CCA program alone carries a $2.37 billion program request for fiscal 2027. [2]

The picture that emerges is a service managing simultaneous transitions: retiring legacy airframes, ramping crewed production, and weaving autonomous systems into a fleet whose final shape remains hostage to budget votes and production timelines.

Tabor cautioned that the 1,509 figure is likely to change with world events, new requirements and the rise of new technology — including CCAs, which he said are not yet changing the fighter requirement but could reduce it in future reports. [1]