America’s fighter force is running out of margin: Rep. Biggs

American defense strategy depends on airpower. That has been true for decades, but the demand signal is sharper now. The United States expects its Air Force to deter China, reassure allies in Europe, defend the homeland, respond to crises in the Middle East and remain ready for major war. Those missions are spread across different theaters, different timelines and different levels of risk. They all assume that enough combat airpower will be available when needed. That assumption is becoming harder to defend. The Air Force fighter fleet is now the oldest and smallest in the service’s 78-year history. Legacy fighter aircraft have been divested at roughly a two-to-one ratio compared with the procurement of new fighters. The fighter inventory is projected to reach its lowest point in fiscal year 2028, and the service’s primary mission fighter aircraft inventory has already fallen below the congressionally mandated floor of 1,145 aircraft. These figures point to a basic force-planning problem. The United States is assigning its fighter force a global mission set while allowing the force to shrink during recapitalization. Better aircraft are necessary, but they do not eliminate the need for enough aircraft. A smaller fighter force has fewer tails for training, fewer aircraft available during maintenance cycles, fewer options for combatant commanders and less ability to absorb attrition if deterrence fails. The Air Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request would buy 62 fighters: 38 F-35As and 24 F-15EXs. That would be an improvement over deeper cuts, but it remains below the level needed to stabilize the force. National Guard leaders have urged Congress to support at least 72 new fighters per year, with a goal above 100 as the industrial base allows. The difference between 62 and 72 aircraft may look modest in one budget cycle. Over several years, it determines whether the force continues to shrink or begins to recover. This is the context for the bipartisan letter I led to congressional defense leaders with Representatives Don Bacon, Donald Davis, Russell Fry, Clay Higgins, Dusty Johnson, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, August Pfluger, Pete Stauber, Chris Smith, William Timmons and Joe Wilson. The letter urges Congress to use the FY27 defense bills to procure no fewer than 72 fighters per year, scale above 100 as industry allows, support multiyear procurement authority for the F-35A and F-15EX, maintain at least 57 combat-coded fighter squadrons and require better reporting on fighter recapitalization across the Active, Guard and Reserve components. The proposal is deliberately specific. It does not try to settle every dispute about the future of air power. It addresses the nearer-term problem that aircraft are leaving the inventory faster than replacements are arriving. Some divestment is necessary. Older aircraft become more expensive to sustain and less useful against advanced threats. But divestment only works when replacement capacity arrives on time. Retiring…