Projected Composition of the U.S. Military's Fleet of Fighter Aircraft Through 2040

Congressional Budget Office

No 62538, Reports from Congressional Budget Office

Abstract: CBO projects that the U.S. military's current fleet of about 3,300 fighter aircraft will shrink to about 3,000 aircraft by 2029 but then grow steadily from 2031 to 2040, reaching 3,600 aircraft. Starting in 2033, more than 50 percent of the fighter fleet will be harder-to-detect stealthy aircraft. Because of the challenges associated with maintaining stealthy aircraft, CBO projects that the availability and use of the fighter fleet will decline between 2026 and 2040, even though the total fleet will be younger, on average, than it was in 2025.

JEL-codes: F52 H41 H56 H57 L64 N42 N62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07-27
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