The United States Air Force is seeking congressional approval to retire a total of 149 aircraft in Fiscal Year 2027. The proposal is part of an ongoing effort to free up funds for the procurement of next-generation fighter jets and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The current United States aircraft inventory, excluding trainers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), stands at approximately 4,000 aircraft.
The proposed divestments for Fiscal 2027 include 49 A-10 Warthogs, 23 U-2 Dragon Ladies, 20 KC-135 tankers, 20 F-15Es, 16 legacy C-130H Hercules aircraft, and six F-16 Fighting Falcons. This request represents a significant decrease compared to the Air Force's initial Fiscal 2026 budget proposal, which sought the retirement of 336 aircraft, including the entire fleet of 162 A-10 Warthogs, 62 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons, 35 T-1A Jayhawks, and 21 F-15Es.
According to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2026, a ceiling has been established allowing up to 21 F-15E retirements in Fiscal 2027 and 30 in Fiscal 2028, totaling 51 over two years. The current request of 20 F-15E retirements aligns with this ceiling. Meanwhile, the Air Force is raising its procurement target for the next-generation F-15EX Eagle II to 267 aircraft while investing more to accelerate production. Additionally, the service lost at least four F-15Es during Operation Epic Fury.
The service's effort to retire its Lockheed U-2 fleet has faced ongoing negotiations, with previous budget plans aiming for retirement in 2027. However, Congress may require the Air Force to restore more U-2 aircraft instead of fully approving the 23 divestments. Furthermore, the retirement of KC-135 tankers is restricted by a legislative requirement to maintain 502 tankers in service by October 2028, up from the previous requirement of 466 aircraft.
For older combat aircraft, Congress has historically blocked attempts to retire the 32 training-coded Block 20 F-22 Raptors. Consequently, the Air Force has omitted them from its retirement requests for both Fiscal 2026 and Fiscal 2027. The Fiscal 2027 budget request also retains all 42 remaining F-15C/D aircraft, even though Congress has previously allowed the phasing out of older F-15C/D models.
